ITIF Files Comments Supporting T-Mobile-Sprint Merger
Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, DC 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Applications of T-Mobile US, Inc. and Sprint ) WT Docket No. 18-197 Corporation for Consent to Transfer Control of ) Licenses and Authorizations ) OPPOSITION TO PETITIONS TO DENY OF ITIF The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (“ITIF”)1 appreciates this opportunity to comment in support of the pending merger of T-Mobile US, Inc. (“T-Mobile”) and Sprint Corporation (“Sprint”).2 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY ITIF supports this transaction with the belief that the merger advances innovative wireless broadband services, offers significant benefits that will ultimately flow to consumers, and presents few concerns in terms of competition. The merger offers significant scale and operational efficiencies that will help accelerate the transition to next generation, 5G networks, intensifying competition, and bringing numerous benefits that flow throughout the economy. An honest examination of the facts should find this merger in the public interest under sections 214(a) and 310(d) of the Communications Act.3 Petitions to deny the merger do not fully appreciate the synergies of the transaction and take too myopic a view of how competition functions in today’s media and telecommunications landscape. Some critics of the merger focus narrowly on the number of competitors, decrying this merger as a 4 to 3 reduction. This view does not appreciate companies on the cusp of wireless entry, such as cable firms, or, more importantly, the 1 The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) is a non-partisan research and educational institute – a think tank – whose mission is to formulate and promote public policies to advance technological innovation and productivity internationally, in Washington, and in the states.
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