In September, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) paused the clock on the 180-day review period for T-Mobile and Sprint’s merger plans and asked for more documentation. The FCC is now asking the public to weigh in on the matter.
As noted by the FCC, the latest filing includes new data and a “substantial body of new material.”
On November 6, 2018, the Applicants filed a new econometric study with the Commission. The new study describes itself as a “merger simulation offer[ing] an economically coherent framework, grounded in detailed industry data, for understanding the competitive significance of the proposed merger.” The analysis represents a substantial body of new material on economic issues central to the review of the proposed transaction. It relies on a newly submitted data set and new methodologies to reach conclusions about the specific effects of the transaction not previously in the record.
The 180-day clock has been paused at 55 days into the review since September 11, but will resume once the comment period is closed.
Some progress in favor of the merger deal came two weeks ago as T-Mobile’s parent company voted for the deal as the majority shareholder of the telecom.
