For the last year, T-Mobile and Sprint have been telling anyone who’ll listen that their planned $26 billion merger will bring some incredible benefits to American consumers. To hear the companies tell it, the industry’s latest super-union will result in faster speeds, broader broadband deployment, and a dramatic boost in well-paying American jobs.
But if you’ve seen telecom mergers go through this process before, there’s plenty of reason to be skeptical. Consolidation tends to make prices higher, connectivity worse, and customer service even more terrible. Pre-merger promises to do better are usually hollow, as consumer advocates, unions, and many antitrust experts all agree. For Sprint and T-Mobile, the biggest new wrinkle is the promised arrival of 5G, but that new tech is just cover for the same promises of better service and broader access — promises that are shaky at best.
To gain FCC approval, T-Mobile promised to deploy a 5G network covering 97 percent of the US population within three years, and 99 percent of Americans within six years. “The construction of this network and the delivery of such high-speed wireless services to the vast majority of Americans would substantially benefit consumers and our country as a whole,” the FCC claimed.
As a result, the FCC this week stated it would be approving the deal, insisting the merger would be a net positive for American consumers. The deal still needs to be approved by the Department of Justice, which has shown growing skepticism, but as far as FCC boss Ajit Pai is concerned, T-Mobile’s promises are money in the bank.
But Gigi Sohn, a lawyer with the FCC under the Obama administration, told The Verge T-Mobile’s promises were “vague and unenforceable,” and it was unlikely Pai would follow through.
“I have little hope that this Chairman will enforce any of these promises, if he is even around when they become due,” Sohn said. “In nearly two and a half years, the Trump FCC has not taken even one action that is contrary to the interests of the big mobile carriers.”
More at The Verge.