Ten state attorneys general on Tuesday sued to block the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, saying the $26 billion deal would result in consumers paying more for their wireless phone plans, with low-income and minority customers hit the hardest.
This is "exactly the sort of consumer-harming, job-killing mega merger our antitrust laws were designed to prevent," New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) said. T-Mobile, the third-largest wireless company in the U.S., and Sprint, which follows in the No. 4 spot, announced the proposed merger in April 2018, and said the goal was to get the deal approved by July 2019.
T-Mobile and Sprint say that by coming together, they'll be able to expand the country's 5G network. Last month, Federal Communications Commission Chair Ajit Pai said the merger would close "the digital divide in rural America" while "advancing United States leadership in 5G." It's believed FCC commissioners will vote on the merger soon, and the Justice Department is expected to make its decision on the merger sometime in the next few weeks, The New York Times reports.
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