T-Mobile Reportedly Asking Operators To Publicly Support Sprint Acquisition

As two of the four major mobile carriers in the United States prepare to merge, one of them is trying to build as much PR support as possible for the proposed deal.

T-Mobile, which announced in April it would acquire Sprint, wants some of its smaller partners to build momentum for the deal with public support in the form of newspaper editorials and other statements, Reuters reported.

T-Mobile reportedly sent out emails to wireless operators that listed ways they could show support for the merger, which still has not gotten government approval. According to the email Reuters saw, T-Mobile listed talking points and suggested the unnamed operator write a letter to regulators or publish an editorial about it.

The Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Department of Justice are in the process of analyzing the merger’s legality. T-Mobile may be trying to drum up as much support from wireless carriers as it can, though Duke Law School professor James Cox told Reuters it could count as coercion on T-Mobile’s part.

The $26 billion merger was announced in April with the hook being that the two telecom giants would help bring about a national 5G network. Wireless carriers are racing to launch 5G networks, which would represent a significant speed boost from the current 4G LTE standard. T-Mobile CEO John Legere has spent the past several months tweeting about how powerful a combined T-Mobile and Sprint 5G network would be.

It should be noted that T-Mobile was talking about building a large 5G network well before the Sprint acquisition was announced.

A merger of T-Mobile and Sprint would disrupt the U.S. service carrier market by reducing the number of major carriers from four to three. While both companies seem confident about the deal being approved, the government has blocked similar acquisitions in the past on antitrust grounds. The previous presidential administration stopped AT&T from buying T-Mobile in 2011. The merger could result in reduced consumer choice and increased prices, according to critics.