New York Public Service Commission approves T-Mobile/Sprint merger

New York’s Public Service Commission has approved T-Mobile's acquisition of Sprint with some conditions related to jobs and benefits provided to employees in the fourth most populated state in the country. The state agency determined that the merger is “not expected to cause interruptions or changes in service for existing Sprint wireline customers.” Moreover, as a condition for approval, the commission is requiring the company to continue to operate its relay call center in Syracuse and honor existing contracts until they expire. To offset concerns about job losses in New York, at least in the near term, the combined company has agreed that the number of employees in the state “will be at least equal to the total number of employees of Sprint and T-Mobile employees as of the closing of the merger,” and will continue for three years. The companies also agreed to provide current T-Mobile employees with the same benefits they receive today and to make equivalent benefits available to current Sprint employees. The agency also said it will track the company’s progress on 5G deployments in New York and determine if New T-Mobile delivers on its promise to provide 5G service to the “overwhelming majority” of coverage areas within three to five years of the merger closing.

The companies have now received approval from 16 of the required 19 state public utilities commissions.