Some in Congress Grow More Wary of Selling Sprint to SoftBank of Japan

Congressional concern over the proposed takeover of Sprint Nextel by SoftBank of Japan on national security grounds grew as Sen Charles Schumer (D-NY) asked government regulators to carefully review the Asian company’s ties to Chinese telecommunications equipment makers.

In a letter to the Treasury Department and the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday, Sen Schumer urged the two to carefully consider the SoftBank deal in the wake of widespread attacks by Chinese hackers. Sen Schumer is the latest senior lawmaker in Washington to express wariness over the deal because of SoftBank’s relationships with Chinese telecommunications equipment makers like Huawei and ZTE. Sen John McCain (R-AZ) wrote a separate letter to the FCC’s acting chairwoman, Mignon Clyburn, asking the agency to carefully review the proposal. The letters come as SoftBank cleared another regulatory hurdle. A California state regulator approved the proposed takeover, joining 22 other states and the District of Columbia.