US: Senate panel to hold hearing on Sprint, T-Mobile merger

A US Senate committee plans to hold a hearing on June 27 on the proposed US$26.5 billion merger of US wireless carriers T-Mobile US and Sprint, reported Reuters.

No witnesses have been announced for the hearing to be held by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee that oversees antitrust issues announced on Wednesday, May 23. However, T-Mobile Chief Executive John Legere and Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure met with the US Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission earlier this month to tout the proposed tie-up and are likely to testify, officials said.

“Few industries touch Americans’ daily lives as much as the wireless market,” Senator Mike Lee, a Republican who chairs the subcommittee, said in a statement. “I want to make sure that the proposed merger between T-Mobile and Sprint benefits consumers in a manner consistent with existing antitrust law.”

Senator Amy Klobuchar, the ranking Democrat on the panel, said in a statement the “combination of T-Mobile and Sprint raises serious antitrust issues.”

“Competition among the four largest cell phone carriers has led to lower prices, better service and more innovation. That’s why it’s critically important that we hold a hearing to ask serious questions about how this consolidation could affect American consumers,” Klobuchar said.

Full Content: The Globe and Mail

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