FCC doubtful about Sprint/T-Mobile merger

FCC doubtful about Sprint/T-Mobile merger

Tom Wheeler, chairman of US telecoms regulator the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has reportedly expressed doubts over a possible merger between Sprint and T-Mobile US.

The comments were reportedly voiced during a meeting with Sprint chairman and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, held earlier this week.

Wheeler was sceptical over the potential deal between the third and fourth-largest players respectively in the US due to competition grounds, according to a source.

The news follows an announcement by William Baer, senior official at the US anti-trust division, that regulatory approval for a merger between the top four mobile players in the US would be unlikely.

The assistant attorney general was reported to hold the view that any merger in the market would be detrimental to competition.

SoftBank-owned Sprint and Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile US unit have been in talks over a possible merger between the two companies.


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