T-Mobile Sprint Gets OK from California

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)  approved the merger of Sprint Communications Company and T-Mobile, with extensive conditions to mitigate the potential adverse impacts on competition and to ensure that T-Mobile delivers on its promises to consumers, including requirements for faster speeds, broader coverage, job creation, and offerings for low-income customers. The Decision orders the merged company to implement the following to benefit consumers:

• Provide 5G wireless service with speeds of at least 100 Mbps to 99 percent of California’s population by the end of 2026, and 300 Mbps to 93 percent by the end of 2024.
• Provide 5G wireless service with speeds of at least 100 Mbps to 85 percent of California’s rural population, and speeds of at least 50 Mbps available to 94 percent of California’s rural population, by the end of 2026.
• Have fixed home Internet access available to at least 2.3 million California households, of which at least 123,000 are rural households, within six years.
• Maintain or improve current 4G LTE service quality and coverage for existing customers during the transition to 5G.
• Offer the low-income California LifeLine program for as long as it operates in California, and enroll at least 300,000 new LifeLine customers.
• Increase jobs in California by at least 1,000 compared to the total number of current Sprint and T-Mobile employees.
• Other important commitments relating to diversity, reporting, and rural infrastructure deployment.

In addition, an independent monitor will be appointed to review compliance with the Decision within 120 days of the merger approval. Both the CPUC and the California Attorney General may take enforcement actions if T-Mobile fails to comply with the conditions of the Decision.