Josh Kosman

Apparently, Attorney General William Barr has recused himself from weighing in on a planned $26 billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint due to potential conflicts of interest. That gives Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, head of the Department of Justice’s antitrust division, final word on the controversial proposed merger between the nation’s third- and fourth-largest wireless providers. AG Barr was on Time Warner’s board until it was acquired in 2018 by AT&T and still owns stock in the new company.

The Department of Justice believes three national 5G wireless providers are needed to ensure robust competition, a position that provides a big boost to the proposed $26.5 billion merger of Sprint and T-Mobile. The No. 3 and No. 4 wireless carriers have said they don’t have the finances independently to quickly bankroll an expensive rollout of the next generation in wireless technology — leaving just Verizon and AT&T to offer a 5G network.

The Federal Communication Commission’s surprise move to block Sinclair Broadcast Group’s $6.6 billion acquisition of Tribune Media came after the head of a rival conservative news outlet discussed his opposition to the deal with President Donald Trump. “I have discussed my opposition to the merger a few times with him,” Christopher Ruddy, founder and chief executive of Newsmax, said on July 18, referring to his longtime friend, President Trump.

Apparently, AT&T has agreed with the feds on the conditions paving the way for it to buy DirecTV. AT&T worked out the plan with the Justice Department. Agreeing to comply means the Department of Justice will likely clear the AT&T deal in October.

The Federal Communications Commission still has not ruled on the merger. The move will allow AT&T to add DirecTV’s 20 million satellite-TV subscribers to its 5.7 million U-Verse TV service subscribers, which currently spans 22 states.

Verizon Wireless is very interested in buying Dish Network’s spectrum, The Post has learned.

A top Verizon executive told a group of insiders that the country’s No. 1 wireless carrier was eyeing the lucrative spectrum owned by Charlie Ergen’s satellite-TV company, a banker with direct knowledge of the conversation said.

Analysts have estimated Dish’s spectrum could be worth as much as $17 billion. A second source close to the companies said the two companies have held informal, early talks about the spectrum.