A group of eight Democratic US senators and independent Senator Bernie Sanders urged the Justice Department (DOJ) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday, February 12, to reject a proposed US$26 billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.
The merger is “likely to raise prices for consumers, harm workers, stifle competition, exacerbate the digital divide, and undermine innovation,” they wrote in separate letters to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Makan Delrahim, the DOJ’s top antitrust official.
The signatories included potential or confirmed presidential candidates Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, Sherrod Brown, Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, and Cory Booker. Also signing the letters were Senators Richard Blumenthal and Tom Udall.
The companies did not immediately comment. A US House panel is set to hold a hearing on the merger on Wednesday.
The senators noted the four largest wireless carriers—including AT&T and Verizon—control 98% of the market.
“Antitrust regulators around the world have consistently blocked four-to-three mergers in the mobile and telecommunications industry, and those who have allowed such mergers have lived to regret it,” they wrote.
Separately, T-Mobile Chief Executive Officer John Legere defended the merger in written testimony released on Tuesday, ahead of a House Energy and Commerce Committee panel hearing on Wednesday.
Legere said the merger would lead to lower prices and more US jobs. Opponents argue the combined entity would li
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