A judge overseeing a lawsuit brought by attorneys general from 13 states and the District of Columbia to block the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint is expected to rule in favor of the deal on Tuesday, reports The New York Times.
Although the FCC officially approved the merger between the number three and number four U.S. wireless carriers in November 2019, the states quickly filed a lawsuit, arguing that combining the two carriers would not be in the public interest, as it would reduce competition, leading to higher phone bills.
Final arguments in the suit took place in January. While the judge is expected to rule in favor of the merger, none of the involved parties have read the judge’s ruling as yet, so there could be restrictions or other conditions attached.
If the judge does rule in favor of the merger, both T-Mobile and Sprint will make announcements related to the merger on Tuesday. The lawsuit was the final roadblock to the merger’s moving forward. The newly combined carrier will be known as T-Mobile and will boast 100 million customers.
Under the terms of the merger, the two companies have committed to building a nationwide 5G network covering 97% of the U.S. population in three years and 99% within six years. They have also promised to not raise prices for three years following the merger’s completion.
Both carriers are required to sell some of their assets to Dish, which the FCC wants to see become the fourth wireless carrier in the United States.