Gerard Scimeca – Chairman, CASE
April 22, 2019

The Wall Street Journal offers some very sobering news for U.S. consumers and the future of continued technological innovation if reports are accurate that staffers at the Department of Justice (DOJ) are holding up the merger of wireless carriers Sprint and T-Mobile. Attorneys at the department are slowing down review, keeping the merger in “anti-trust purgatory,” according to a Journal editorial.

The Journal rightly notes that this bureaucratic obstacle is a tremendous mistake, both for the U.S. economy as a whole and consumers especially. Consumers will lose out by not having a 3rd national carrier to compete with Verizon and AT&T, and further fail to realize the market benefits of the combined efficiencies of scale that two carriers will offer. By sharing resources such as bandwidth spectrum and technology research, and also eliminating fixed costs in infrastructure and deployment, the merger will produce enormous savings that will be reflected in street prices paid by consumers and U.S. businesses.

CASE has long argued to let the market determine America’s transition to 5G with as little bureaucratic interference as possible, as clock-punchers in Washington are among the least informed or prescient regarding how U.S. technology will develop and thrive in the coming years. As Sprint and T-Mobile have built their brands by being lower-cost carriers and market “disrupters,” it is also wholly inequitable that government should determine that these companies cannot expand their footprint, even as they have demonstrated numerous times to investors, regulators and lawmakers their commitment to value pricing to maintain brand identity and market share.

Among the consumer benefits CASE has noted from the proposed merger:

– Creates true nationwide competition with the duopoly of Verizon and AT&T
– Brings nearly $40 billion in new investment in 5G technology and infrastructure, speeding benefits to consumers
– Makes the U.S. more competitive with nations such as China and South Korea in developing proprietary 5G technologies
– Helps close the digital divide with rural Americans who are lagging far behind in access to wireless broadband
– Produces thousands of high-skilled jobs through corporate growth

The Journal hits an absolute bullseye on how shortsightedness from narrow-minded bureaucrats can undermine advancements in marketplace technology just when America needs it most as we move to revolutionary 5G technology. Let us hope that the DOJ opens their eyes, reviews all the facts, and does not deny consumers the full benefits of U.S. 5G technology they deserve.