Few Rivals Speak Out Against Sprint, T-Mobile Merger

If America’s tech and telecom giants have an opinion about T-Mobile US’s plan to reshape the wireless industry by taking over Sprint , most are keeping it to themselves.Few large companies have gone on record to back or oppose the roughly $26 billion merger, which would combine the country’s No. 3 and No. 4 carriers. Fewer still are using their lobbying prowess to fight the deal behind the scenes. “I don’t think you’re going to have any entity that has motive and means to oppose this deal” among big business, said Blair Levin, an industry analyst at New Street Research. A lack of organized opposition favors the companies as they seek approval from the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice to close the deal. Representatives of Sprint and T-Mobile have met with FCC and Justice Department lawyers several times to sell the deal and don’t expect to be able to close it until 2019.