The T-Mobile/Sprint merger is complete, according to a T-Mobile press release on April 1. It says the merger is creating “the New T-Mobile, a supercharged Un-carrier.”
This merger was delayed by lawsuits from the attorneys general of multiple states. Over time, states settled individually with T-Mobile, and the Southern District of New York ruled against the remaining states. Another lawsuit, brought by consumers in California, was recently dropped. The suits claimed the merger would reduce competition in the cell phone marketplace and cause service prices to rise. T-Mobile argued that prices would go down because they would be more able to compete with AT&T and Verizon and the deal would give them the ability to develop a more expansive 5G network.
“The New T-Mobile’s commitment to building the world’s best broad and deep nationwide 5G network, which will bring lightning-fast speeds to urban areas and underserved rural communities alike, is more critical than ever, as reliable connectivity has become so important to Americans,” the press release says.
John Legere, the CEO of T-Mobile, is passing the role of CEO to Mike Sievert with the conclusion of the merger. “The New T-Mobile’s commitment to delivering a transformative broad and deep nationwide 5G network is more important and more needed than ever and what we are building is mission-critical for consumers,” said Mike Sievert, the new president and CEO of T-Mobile. “T-Mobile has been changing wireless for good — and now we are going to do it on a whole new level!”
The press release does not specify any plans for the Sprint brand. “There is so much to come – today is just the beginning,” a Sprint spokesperson told The Verge. “We’re excited to get to work following through on the first of several commitments we promised would be a part of this merger.
T-Mobile made many promises in the process of receiving approval for the merger with the states who challenged the merger in courts and to government organizations like the Federal Communications Commission. They committed to not raise prices for the next three years and are providing wireless internet to homes in some states. They claim in the next six years their 5G network will reach 99 percent of the US population with average speeds above 100 Mbps to 90 percent of people. T-Mobile also says that within six years they will have 14 times their current capacity partially because of the benefits of this merger.
