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T-Mobile, Sprint Merger Will Reportedly Be Cleared By US National Security Panel (cnbc.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the under-pressure dept.

According to CNBC, T-Mobile and Sprint are expecting their merger to be approved by a U.S. national security panel as early as next week, after their respective parent companies said they would consider dropping Huawei. From the report: U.S. government officials have been pressuring T-Mobile's German majority owner, Deutsche Telekom, to stop using Huawei equipment, the sources said, over concerns that Huawei is effectively controlled by the Chinese state and its network equipment may contain "back doors" that could enable cyber espionage, something which Huawei denies. That pressure is part of the national security review of T-Mobile's $26 billion deal to buy U.S. rival Sprint, the sources said.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has been conducting a national security review of the Sprint deal, which was announced in April. Negotiations between the two companies and the U.S. government have not been finalized and any deal could still fall through, the sources cautioned. Sprint's parent, SoftBank Group, plans to replace 4G network equipment from Huawei with hardware from Nokia and Ericsson, Nikkei reported on Thursday, without citing sources.

32 comments

  1. Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    About time we have a scrappy competitor to ATT and VZW.

    1. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Fewer competitors in the market is bad. It invites cartels and prevents new entrants, which means prices go up, quality goes down, and nobody can do anything about it.

    2. Re:Good by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Fewer competitors in the market is bad.

      Not in this case. There are two big companies: AT&T and Verizon, and two midgets: T-Mobile and Sprint.

      Without the merger, Sprint will likely fold soon, and T-Moble will continue to limp on as a weak competitor to the AT&T - Verizon quasi-duopoly.

      With the merger, the combined company will be a stronger competitor, and we can have a triopoly instead. This is a good thing, and should be approved.

    3. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd rather a break-up of AT&T and Verizon.

      Keeping the market competitive is in the best interest of the greatest number of people. This is utilitarian logic, and it applies in this case. Letting corporations become this dominant in the market harms the entire economy and all the consumers.

    4. Re:Good by io333 · · Score: 1

      lol competitor lol

      enjoy the dry oligopolistic ass rape

    5. Re: Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So ... what argument do you have to compel a breakup of either? There's no solid evidence of any anti-trust violation.

    6. Re:Good by John.Banister · · Score: 1

      This is a good thing, and should be approved.

      By the government, maybe - T-Mobile should approve it only so long as Masayoshi Son has nothing to do with the customer facing policies of the combined company.

    7. Re:Good by Dorianny · · Score: 1

      Just because they are in the same sector doesn't mean they are directly competing against each other, just like there is few people trying to decide between Toyota and BMW. People that care for network coverage, speed and reliability look at Verizon and ATT and people that are looking for value look at T-mobile or Sprint. A Merged T-mobile/Sprint might decide to go up against the other 2 or it just might decide that its perfectly comfortable sitting alone in the lower-tier market

  2. Re:First Post Will Reportedly Be Cleared By Slashd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    MAGA = faga traitor shit

    ADX FLORENCE is the new sex bomb

  3. Re: First Post Will Reportedly Be Cleared By Slash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Didja get laid at Supermax bitch? I hear lefties make great bottoms.

  4. We elected a pro-corporate anti-regulation by rsilvergun · · Score: 0

    administration. So yeah, it's going to be approved. Here's where said administration's supporters chime in with "But Hilary".... You know, we had a primary right? and we had a perfectly good candidate who could have won and would in all likelihood have opposed this merger...

    --
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    1. Re:We elected a pro-corporate anti-regulation by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      So you would PREFER a duopoly? Because I hate to break the news to ya buttercup but neither T-Mobile nor Sprint has the money to deal with a 5g rollout on their own and frankly in large sections of the country their service is just terrible.I actually had to laugh when a T-Mobile store opened where the old Radio Shack was formerly located in my home town as I said "Welp the one company that will have less foot traffic than Radio Shack took the spot" and sure enough I drive past there every day and there is NOBODY there, the poor gal in there might as well set up a cot and just nap her shift away!

      AT&T and Verizon have such a huge head start on T-Mobile and Sprint the only hope in hell they have is to throw together and hope out of two shitty companies they can make one halfway decent but honestly? Not holding my breath, personally I think AT&T and Verizon have just too big a lead, its gonna work about as well as AOHell/Time Warner.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    2. Re:We elected a pro-corporate anti-regulation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Because I hate to break the news to ya buttercup but neither T-Mobile nor Sprint has the money to deal with a 5g rollout on their own" BULLSHIT 1.

    3. Re:We elected a pro-corporate anti-regulation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you know, i was anti trump from the get-go, BUT HER EMAIL po-poo'ers fail to acknowledge that that action of hers is FELONY CRIMINAL.

      that is why Hilary lost.

      turmp just didnt have anything stuck on him like that at the time.

    4. Re:We elected a pro-corporate anti-regulation by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      I like T-mobile, I hate Sprint and I don't give a shit about 5G. Like, seriously am fine with 4G. It's not worth Sprint eating T-Mobile (since their management will wind up on top.)

      --
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    5. Re:We elected a pro-corporate anti-regulation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I look forward to their 5G to see if they can deliver on the home broadband offerings they have teased. I'd love to stop sending money to Spectrum and send it to T-Mobile instead, particularly if it would fit into some useful multiline/bundle that benefits my phone costs or services too.

    6. Re:We elected a pro-corporate anti-regulation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      administration. So yeah, it's going to be approved. Here's where said administration's supporters chime in with "But Hilary".... You know, we had a primary right? and we had a perfectly good candidate who could have won and would in all likelihood have opposed this merger...

      If I recall, most of us did not elect this Administration.

  5. japan + germany.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    beware world. beware.

  6. LTE is good enough by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    LTE Advanced offers speeds over 100 megabits/sec. That is good enough for most people. Sprint and T-Mobile can hang around for a long time with their good enough LTE networks.

    1. Re:LTE is good enough by jpaine619 · · Score: 0

      LTE Advanced offers speeds over 100 megabits/sec. That is good enough for most people. Sprint and T-Mobile can hang around for a long time with their good enough LTE networks.

      Hey, it's the "I'll decide what's enough" asshole. I'll bet you were on board with the "640K is enough memory" bullshit too.

      How about you go fuck yourself?

    2. Re:LTE is good enough by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      Wow...stupid anons have NEVER actually dealt with customers, have you? Have you ever seen the little animated short where a phone store worker tries to get some stupid iMoron to take a Samsung over the sold out iPhone? Her answer was always "Is it an iPhone? Then I don't want it". And when asked what about the iPhone made it so special? "It has the Geebees and the Wifis"

      Its not gonna make a diddly damn in hell if the user NEVAR EVAR uses any kind of data that would REQUIRE a 5g connection, all that matters is "They have the Five Gees and this is the four Gees, therefor its crap" and that will be that. Hell laptop, TV and smartphone manufacturers have been playing that game for ages, come up with some magical thing, be it retina or 4k or some new Wifi that most users will have NO clue about and many will never use or notice and make that the "must have" and the customers will line up to throw away their old toy for the new toy every.single.time.

      If you think they can survive on 4G when the other guy is bombarding users with commercials about their 5G network? You have obviously never worked retail and don't have a fucking clue how customers behave!

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    3. Re: LTE is good enough by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How is it different than the hop to LTE and "nationwide coverage"? In both cases, T-Mobile should have gone out of business. When Sprint lost their superior PTT frequency, that should have ended them too. But in every case, they came out fine. Maybe you shouldn't underestimate the market or the players. Especially T-Mobiles marketing dept.

      Also, 5G maybe fast but if the backbones don't get updated, it's not going to matter. That takes a long time and ATT&Vz are legends when it comes to delays in actual infrastructure.

      Maybe 5G plans will cost more because of the infrastructure investment? Maybe TMobile will lower their prices because they don't have the infrastructure cost, nor do they have low ROI areas that suck up capital for the likes of ATTVz?

    4. Re:LTE is good enough by Known+Nutter · · Score: 1

      I'll bet you were on board with the "640K is enough memory" bullshit too.

      He never said it.

      --
      Beware of the Leopard.
    5. Re:LTE is good enough by jpaine619 · · Score: 1

      I'll concede that.

      I have, however, heard all sorts of variations of the "xxx is more than enough" in the computer industry. It's always b.s. Any time some asshole says "insert-something is enough", I write them off as a moron.

  7. It's going to be approved because it makes sense by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Neither T-Mobile nor Sprint can really keep up with Verizon or AT&T.

    I myself am a T-Mobile customer currently. and I am LOOKING FORWARD to this merger. How many times can you say that about any merger of a company you like with any other? And yet I am, because I know my service coverage will improve, 5g rollout will improve, basically everything about T-Mobile should be getting better.

    Sometimes things just make sense - and this is one of those times.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  8. THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES NAZI FAGGOT KEN DOLL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES FOR YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY NAZI INCEL FAGGOT KEN DOLL FOR YOUR LIES

    Filter error: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING. Filter error: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING.

  9. FCC required changes. Anyone heard about FTC? by raymorris · · Score: 1

    I know the FCC put substantial conditions on the merger and hasn't yet approved the latest plan, revised to meet their conditions. The FCC should rule soon, unless they ask for more changes.

    I haven't heard anything from the FTC for a few months, though. Anyone heard anything on that front?

    DOJ seemed to be open to the idea, if it passes muster with FCC and FTC, but I haven't heard any news there either.

  10. Re:First Post Will Reportedly Be Cleared By Slashd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just hope this somehow makes T-Mobile's service better. As it is, I can barely get 1mbps or less on a supposedly unlimited 4G plan.

  11. Gawd I hope t-mobile culture wins by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    T-mobile employees and product / service is good.

    Sprints isn't.

    Sigh, it'll probably be AT&T or Verizon for me.

  12. Re: First Post Will Reportedly Be Cleared By Slash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I recently switched from sprint to TMobile... Not liking this deal