AG James: Pennsylvania Addition To T-Mobile/sprint Lawsuit Keeps States' Momentum Moving Forward
AG James: Pennsylvania Addition to T-Mobile/Sprint Lawsuit Keeps States’ Momentum Moving Forward
AG Shapiro Becomes 18th AG to Join Suit
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is joining the multistate lawsuit blocking the anticompetitive megamerger of telecommunications giants T-Mobile and Sprint, becoming the 18th plaintiff to join the lawsuit and add to the states’ momentum.
“Pennsylvania’s addition to our lawsuit adds to the states’ momentum against this megamerger that continues to be bad for consumers, bad for workers, and bad for innovation,” said Attorney General James. “We welcome Pennsylvania and Attorney General Shapiro to our multistate coalition that continues to build strength, and now includes every region of the nation.”
“All Pennsylvanians deserve access to affordable, reliable wireless service, and as Attorney General, I am committed to protecting that access,” said Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro. “The merger between T-Mobile and Sprint would severely undermine competition in the telecommunications sector, which would hurt Pennsylvanian consumers by driving up prices, limiting coverage, and diminishing quality. I’m proud to stand with my colleague Attorneys General in opposing this merger and advocating on behalf of Pennsylvania consumers.”
Attorney General Shapiro will become the 18th attorney general to challenge the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, adding to the forward progress initiated by Attorney General James and the Attorneys General of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is not only the fifth largest state in the country, but represents parts of Appalachia — bordering states from the Atlantic coast stretching all the way to Ohio. While most of the state is home to rural swatches, the Commonwealth is also home to the large urban cities of Philadelphia in the east and Pittsburgh in the west, and contains many large manufacturing centers throughout the region. Additionally, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office has been at the frontline of state merger antitrust enforcement and will add additional strength and experience to the states’ lawsuit from recent merger litigation victories. Pennsylvania’s wireless subscribers rely heavily on the benefits that competition brings to the mobile phone marketplace.
T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corporation are the third and fourth largest mobile wireless networks in the U.S., and are the lower-cost carriers among the “Big Four” — Verizon Wireless and AT&T round out the market. Intense competition, spurred in particular by T-Mobile and Sprint, has meant declining prices, increased coverage, and better quality for all mobile phone subscribers.
T-Mobile currently has more than 79 million subscribers, and is a majority-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG. Sprint currently has more than 54 million subscribers, and is a majority-owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp.
The matter is being handled by Antitrust Bureau Chief Beau Buffier; Deputy Antitrust Bureau Chief Elinor R. Hoffmann; Chief Economist Peter Malaspina; Assistant Attorneys General Alejandro Awad Cherit, Morgan Feder, Michael Jo, Jeremy R. Kasha, Beatriz Marques, Javier Ortega, Kris Perez Hicks, Amber Wessels-Yen, and James Yoon; Legal Assistant Arlene Leventhal; and Chief Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Christopher D’Angelo.