Will regulators approve the massive T-Mobile-Sprint merger?

As the two smaller players in a wireless industry dominated by four companies, T-Mobile and Sprint argue that they need to link up to effectively challenge Verizon and AT&T, and the creation of a new wireless behemoth — with nearly 100 million customers — will allow them to build out a national 5G network. T-Mobile CEO John Legere has already raised the specter of Chinese competition on the next-generation network technology. And although that argument will be thoroughly questioned by critics, it’s one that could get some play in the Trump administration.

While the Obama-era FCC chairman Tom Wheeler also questioned the wisdom of similarly massive telecom deals, the current chairman, Ajit Pai, appointed to the post by President Trump, has seemed friendlier toward such proposals. “I don’t think any regulator who embraces regulatory humility and intellectual honesty about economics can say whether three or four or five [carriers] is the optimal number,” he said in 2017. “What I do want to see is a competitive wireless marketplace.” Phillip Berenbroick, senior policy counsel at Public Knowledge, questions whether the new, giant T-Mobile will be able to “steer clear of price wars” when it has a larger share of customers. Berenbroick says he see the FCC as “a much lower hurdle” compared to the Justice Department, which is “hurdle number one.” “I think what you’re likely to see is that if the parties convince the Department of Justice, then this FCC will probably be willing to go along with it,” he says.