DOJ’s T-Mobile/Sprint Approval Is a Disaster for Consumers
Statement of Alex Harman, Competition Policy Advocate, Public Citizen’s Congress Watch Division
Note: Today, the U.S. Department of Justice approved the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint.
The merger is a monopolistic disaster for consumers. Prices will rise, service will suffer, and it is pure speculation to assert that this will benefit 5G.
By pushing DISH to become a wireless provider, the DOJ is tacitly admitting it needs to find a way to ensure that there is competition. A better way the DOJ could ensure that: block the merger.
DISH is never going to build out a wireless network. It has been promising the Federal Communications Commission and the Congress for nearly a decade that it would enter the wireless market but has never done so. But the company’s spectrum assets have only grown more valuable as it has sat on them without taking action to build any network infrastructure. Why should we believe DISH now?
Since the DOJ has done nothing to protect consumers from this disaster, state attorneys general must.
One thing is clear: T-Mobile’s John Legere’s strategy of prominently staying at the Trump International Hotel has paid off. Other corporate executives are sure to learn the lesson.