With FCC shot clock on Sprint/T-Mobile expired, here's where the merger deal stands
The last grain of sand in the Federal Communications Commission's hourglass fell Saturday after an eventful 180 days reviewing the proposed $26.5 billion merger between Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc.
The FCC's informal "shot clock" has been running since July 18 and has incurred three pauses and several meetings with top executives from both wireless carriers in an effort to seal the deal.
Sprint (NYSE: S) and T-Mobile (Nasdaq: TMUS) have proved they're willing to give up a lot to complete the union, submitting a list of concessions to the FCC that included selling off Sprint prepaid brand Boost Mobile, providing service to rural areas and a nationwide deployment of 5G within six years.
On May 21, just a day after the carriers submitted those concessions, three FCC commissioners, including Chairman Ajit Pai, expressed support for the merger, setting up the agency's approval of the deal.
“In light of the significant commitments made by T-Mobile and Sprint, as well as the facts in the record to date, I believe that this transaction is in the public interest and intend to recommend to my colleagues that the FCC approve it,” Pai said in a statement.
Before he was designated FCC chairman by President Trump in 2017, Pai expressed his frustration as a commissioner with "how badly broken the current merger review process has become at the FCC" in a dissenting statement on the 2016 merger between Charter, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks.
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