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US: FCC needs more time to review Sprint-T-Mobile deal

 |  September 11, 2018

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) needs more time to review the proposed Sprint-T-Mobile deal, the agency wrote in a letter to the companies Tuesday, September 11.

The agency has paused an “informal” 180-day transaction clock “to allow for thorough staff and third-party review” of recently submitted materials, reported Reuters.

The US$26 billion deal between the two US wireless carriers, which would shrink the wireless market to three big players from four, is also being reviewed by the US Justice Department.

The FCC stated it paused the informal “shot clock” because of a large, complex submission on benefits that the proposed merger would create and a separate submission on network expansion. The FCC received both submissions on September 5.

“The clock will remain stopped until the applicants have completed the record on which they intend to rely and a reasonable period of time has passed for staff and third-party review,” the FCC said in its letter.

Full Content: ReutersEngadgetGov FCC
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