The T-Mobile-Sprint merger may take another big step toward completion this week.
A deal between T-Mobile, Sprint, and the U.S. Department of Justice could be announced as soon as Wednesday. Rumors have said that the DOJ wants T-Mobile and Sprint to help create a fourth competitive U.S. carrier before it'll approve their merger, and according to CNBC, an agreement could be announced tomorrow.
It's been said that Dish Network will buy assets from T-Mobile and Sprint, including Boost Mobile and some spectrum. It'll then use those assets along with its own collection of spectrum to build out its own 5G network. While it's in the process of doing that, Dish is expected to sell service using T-Mobile's network, which it could do for as long as six to seven years.
T-Mobile and parent company Deutsche Telekom are reportedly worried about Dish turning around and partnering up with a major company like Google, Comcast, or Charter on its wireless network. T-Mo and DT have reportedly tried to set a limit on how much another company can invest in Dish and its network, but because the DOJ wants to create a competitive U.S. carrier to replace Sprint, today's report says that the limitations on Dish will be minimal, if there are any at all.
Despite those concerns, it's said that T-Mobile and Sprint are committed to merging. Not only will combining with Sprint and getting its spectrum help T-Mobile be more competitive with AT&T and Verizon, but if T-Mo doesn't merge with Sprint, another company could swoop in and get Sprint. Plus, today's report notes that for every customer that signs up for Dish and its new wireless network, T-Mobile would get a cut since Dish is using its network.
It's been more than a year since T-Mobile and Sprint announced their merger, which is reportedly valued at $26.5 billion. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has already come out in support of the deal, and so if the DOJ also green lights the merger, it would be be huge for T-Mo and Sprint. The two companies won't be totally clear to combine if they do get DOJ approval, though, because they're facing a lawsuit from 13 state attorneys general who want to block the deal because they feel it will harm competition and raise prices for consumers.