The long-planned merger between T-Mobile and Sprint has overcome a major hurdle as the companies made concessions to ease a key regulator’s concerns about whether the deal would benefit consumers.

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, signaled the shift early Monday. Pai said in a statement that he will recommend to his colleagues that the FCC approve the proposed $26 billion deal.

But the deal isn’t out of the woods yet. The US Department of Justice also has to approve it, and the agency hasn’t yet issued a statement on whether the concessions to the FCC will be enough. On Monday, Bloomberg reported the department’s antitrust section might try to block the deal. 

Among the concessions, according to Pai: Within three years of the deal closing, the companies plan to have a 5G network that covers 97% of the US population, and within six years, 99%. For rural Americans, the coverage would be 85% within three years, and 90% within six.

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