Ownership

To address the loss of a mobile communications competitor that will result from the proposed T-Mobile/Sprint merger, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has proposed a solution that seeks to enable DISH Network to emerge as a fourth national facilities-based wireless carrier. From an engineering perspective, however, DOJ’s approach to enabling DISH’s deployment is not guaranteed to prove adequate to maintain competition comparable to that currently offered over Sprint’s network.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph Simons said that Facebook’s effort to integrate Instagram and WhatsApp more closely could stymie any attempt to break up the social media giant. Chairman Simons said all options were on the table as the FTC investigates Facebook for potential antitrust violations, including major divestitures, but added that the plan by Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive, to knit together Facebook’s three major brands could complicate any case.

It’s likely that a robust antitrust enforcement regime, in tandem with a suite of economic policies could create a market more amenable to sustaining journalism. But in the absence of that, and the uncertainty as to whether the market is fundamentally able to provide the necessary journalistic coverage to inform and serve a functioning democracy and civic life, it’s worth considering what no Democrat has dared advocate for 50-some years: a renewed and robust public investment in media. Yet the fate of (public) media has gotten surprisingly little attention in the 2020 cycle.

Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and seven other Democratic Sens called on the Federal Communications Commission to issue a public notice and seek public comment on the proposed merger between T-Mobile and Sprint in light of the Proposed Final Judgment and a Stipulation and Order (Consent Decree) recently filed by the Department of Justice. “We remain concerned about the lack of transparency in the FCC’s merger review process and the lack of certainty on whether this merger will protect competition and consumers," the Senators wrote.

The backlash against giant tech companies is stressing the public institutions tasked with examining their power, as participants, observers and critics question whether regulators have the skill, will and authority to check corporate forces. The machinery of antitrust regulation will process the broader conversation about tech's role in society through the mill of American politics and law — and some wonder whether it's up to the task.

House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline (D-RI) sent a letter criticizing the Federal Communications Commission for rushing to approve the Sprint and T-Mobile merger.

T-Mobile US and Sprint have taken the first, albeit small step to launch settlement discussions with a group of state attorneys general who threaten to potentially derail their $26 billion merger. Officials at T-Mobile and Sprint have begun exploring possible settlement ideas both internally and with the state AGs. 

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joe Simons aid he’s prepared to break up major technology platforms if necessary by undoing their past mergers as his agency investigates whether companies are harming competition. Chairman Simons, who is leading a broad review of the technology sector, said that breaking up a company is challenging, but could be the right remedy to rein in dominant companies and restore competition. “If you have to, you do it,” Chairman Simons said about breaking up tech companies. “It’s not ideal because it’s very messy. But if you have to you have to.”

T-Mobile and Sprint filed their opposition to calls for a formal comment period on proposed changes to their planned merger, saying petitioners already have had plenty of time to comment and it’s time for the Federal Communications Commission to act. The August 9 filing came after the Wireless Internet Services Providers Association (WISPA) on 

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai shared with his colleagues a draft Order that would approve, subject to conditions, the proposed merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. “After one of the most exhaustive merger reviews in Commission history, the evidence conclusively demonstrates that this transaction will bring fast 5G wireless service to many more Americans and help close the digital divide in rural areas.