T-Mobile-Sprint Deal May Linger Into October as FCC Vote Is Slow

T-Mobile-Sprint Deal May Linger Into October as FCC Vote Is Slow
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T-Mobile’s proposed merger with Sprint remains on hold at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, where most commissioners have yet to vote even though the agency chairman asked for a vote in August, according to Bloomberg.

The inaction means the agency isn’t likely to conclude its review of the deal until October, because of delays built into its procedures. Passage is expected because all three Republicans who comprise a majority at the agency have spoken in favor of the deal.

T-Mobile and Sprint have agreed not to close their deal until after a verdict in a multistate lawsuit, where trial is set for early December. The states say the combination of national wireless carriers will decrease competition and raise prices. The deal’s backers say it will quickly bring advanced 5G networks and create a stronger rival to leaders AT&T and Verizon.

At the FCC, a deadline for action of almost three weeks would kick in once three of the five FCC commissioners vote in favor of a deal. The commissioners vote electronically in a shared system. The deadline period hasn’t commenced, meaning there hasn’t been a third positive vote, a person familiar with the matter said.

Calculating when the FCC must vote is complex. According to a blog post, deadlines begin to kick in only if an item has awaited a vote for 21 days. At that point, a vote in favor by three members commences a countdown clock that initially sets a deadline of 12 days. The deadline can be extended seven days upon a commissioner’s request. In a further wrinkle, the initial 12-day deadline usually doesn’t commence until the Friday after the third vote appears in the internal system the FCC uses.

The FCC said Sprint had claimed payments for 885,000 subscribers to a subsidized phone service, even though those people weren’t using the system. The claim may slow but won’t threaten FCC approval of the merger, Matthew Schettenhelm, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, said in a note. “The issue won’t cause FCC Republicans to block the deal, yet they may force a significant settlement before they approve,“ Schettenhelm said in the note. Approval is expected during the fourth quarter of this year, he said.