T-Mobile, Sprint execs pitch merger to Senate antitrust subcommittee

Executives from T-Mobile and Sprint pitched their $26 billion merger to the Senate's antitrust subcommittee, saying that the combination would give their companies the ability to develop increased capabilities and catch up with bigger wireless carriers. “When we do this, AT&T and Verizon will be forced to react and follow our lead or we will happily take their customers and give them more value and better price,” T-Mobile CEO John Legere said.  “Trust me, the New T-Mobile will not stop, we will be relentless,” he added.

And Marcelo Claure, the executive chairman of Sprint, said that his company needs the merger to go through to survive. “We have struggled to barely break even,” Claure said. The two executives also painted the deal as essential for keeping the US on the bleeding edge for developing 5G wireless networks. The combined company, they argued, would be able to develop a 5G network that could compete with those from AT&T and Verizon and offer greater benefits to consumers.