T-Mobile Sprint Merger Opposition: Broadband Associations, Others Say It Will Harm Rural Areas

Two dozen entities, including several broadband associations, are stepping up their T-Mobile Sprint merger opposition, sending a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and to a Department of Justice official arguing that the proposed merger would harm rural areas and reduce wireless competition. Most of the entities signing the letter to the FCC and DOJ are in the 4Competition Coalition, an alliance formed to oppose the merger. That includes all the broadband associations that signed the letter: NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association, the Rural Wireless Association (RWA), the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) and INCOMPAS, which represents competitive carriers. Other entities that are in the coalition and that signed the letter include the Communications Workers of America, DISH Network, broadband advocacy group Next Century Cities, and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, which advocates for municipal broadband networks, among others.

The groups say the merger threatens to “undermine the services that rural Americans currently enjoy.” Sprint currently “stands out for its willingness to wholesale its network to rural wireless carriers – making roaming services possible for their customers” but T-Mobile has shown no interest in such partnerships. And “the merged parties’ spectrum would not be particularly well suited for rural coverage.”