T-Mobile, Sprint merger clears major hurdle

Two national cellphone carriers may soon merge to create a new wireless giant. A federal judge has cleared the path for T-Mobile’s $26.5 billion takeover of Sprint. The merger still needs a few more approvals, but T-Mobile expects to close the deal as early as April 1.

Why did a judge have to get involved? The merger would shrink the number of major U.S. wireless companies from four to three. States had asked the courts to block the deal, saying it would mean less competition and higher phone bills, but U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero denied the request on Tuesday. T-Mobile successfully argued that the deal would benefit consumers as it becomes a fiercer competitor to the larger Verizon and AT&T.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Michael Cochrane’s analysis of 5G technology, which T-Mobile hopes to improve with the merger.