\tUS politicians expressed concerns members of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) altered the regulator’s analysis of T-Mobile US and Sprint’s proposed merger to downplay the potential impact on competition.<\/p>\n
In a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, Congressmen Frank Pallone and Jerrold Nadler criticised the agency for a “troubling lack of transparency and an apparent lack of appropriate process” in its review.<\/p>\n
Specifically, they faulted the regulator for allowing T-Mobile to submit filings with insufficient detail about discussions with commission staff, and refusing to reopen the matter [1] to public comment after conditions involving Dish Network became part of the deal.<\/p>\n
The pair asked the FCC to turn over all drafts of its merger approval order and indicate whether it is investigating T-Mobile\u2019s compliance with filing regulations.<\/p>\n
Trial
\nThe request comes as Sprint and T-Mobile wage a court battle [2] against more than a dozen state attorney generals opposing the tie up.<\/p>\n
Trial arguments focused on competition, including whether Sprint could continue to be an effective market force without the deal.<\/p>\n
Advocacy group Inner City Press noted in a series of tweets Sprint chairman Marcelo Claure testified the operator “can’t keep up” and would likely be relegated to a regional player if the merger fails. T-Mobile CEO John Legere warned Sprint would probably be \u201csold for parts\u201d without the deal, Kansas City Business Journal reported.<\/p>\n
In a research note, analysts at LightShed Partners said T-Mobile had \u201cdone a good job challenging\u201d assertions the deal would harm competition, adding investors may have underestimated T-Mobile\u2019s ability to prevail in court.<\/p>\n[1] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/featured-content\/top-three\/critics-renew-calls-for-sprint-t-mobile-merger-delay\/
\n[2] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/featured-content\/home-banner\/pivotal-t-mobile-sprint-court-case-commences\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
US politicians expressed concerns members of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) altered the regulator’s analysis …<\/p>\n
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