T-Mobile Stirs ‘Grave Concerns’ at DOJ on Bid to End Old Network

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has “grave concerns” about plans by T-Mobile to shut down the wireless network used by millions of Boost Mobile customers. The DOJ's worries were disclosed in a regulatory filing by Dish, which bought Boost as part of an antitrust settlement approved by the department that cleared the way for T-Mobile’s takeover of Sprint. The dispute over the network, which T-Mobile plans to decommission on January 1, is threatening the elaborate antitrust deal brokered by the Trump administration’s DOJ, which allowed T-Mobile to buy Sprint even though the deal consolidated the mobile phone market to three national players. The DOJ stated that the antitrust settlement could be violated “by one or both” companies if the network shutdown “strands a substantial proportion of Boost customers, particularly if either or both parties have not taken all appropriate steps to affirmatively alleviate any such harms.” If the DOJ determines the terms of the settlement have been violated, it may go to court to enforce the agreement.