FCC approves T-Mobile-Sprint merger but AGs suit remains

With the Federal Communications Commission voting on Wednesday to approve a controversial merger between telecommunications giants T-Mobile and Sprint, New York Attorney General Letitia James is one of the last barriers to the deal going through: She and more than a dozen other state attorneys general are suing to block the merger. 

Following the Justice Department’s approval of the merger this summer, the FCC’s approval was hardly a surprise. The vote came down along party lines, with Chairman Ajit Pai and the two Republican commissioners voting to approve the merger, and the two Democratic commissioners voting against it. 

In their lawsuit, James and the other state attorneys general argue that combining T-Mobile and Sprint would drive up prices and hurt competition. And while the lawsuit represents a bipartisan coalition of states, their numbers are dwindling. Mississippi’s attorney general recently withdrew from the suit after securing commitments from T-Mobile to help bridge the digital divide in his state. His departure left 16 attorneys general challenging the merger; they will get to argue their case in December, when trial is set to begin in New York.

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