Sprint executive messages suggest T-Mobile deal may boost prices

Messages by a Sprint executive revealed in federal court suggested he thought an acquisition by T-Mobile might push up mobile-service prices for consumers, undercutting T-Mobile’s argument that its deal will benefit Americans. The text messages, presented by attorneys for a coalition of states suing to block the deal on antitrust grounds, were sent in October 2017 by Roger Sole, Sprint’s chief marketing officer, to Sprint’s then-CEO Marcelo Claure. Sole wrote that customer prices could rise an average $5 per user if a deal went through. He added that prices could also rise at AT&T and Verizon once the wireless market consolidated to three competitors from four. At the time, Sprint and T-Mobile were negotiating terms of an acquisition.