Senators Seek Hearing on Sprint/T-Mobile Merger

Several members of the Senate Commerce Committee have signed a letter asking the Committee Chairman and Ranking member to schedule a hearing on the proposed Sprint/T-Mobile merger. “The potential consequences of this merger are too great for the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to ignore,” write the Senators in their letter to Commerce Committee leadership. “We should examine the impact of combining these two disruptors into one mega company.” Among other things, the Senators want the Committee to “examine the impact of combining these two disruptors into one mega company,” consider “how this merger could adversely impact low-income consumers because T-Mobile and Sprint are currently direct competitors in offering prepaid services,” and evaluate “T-Mobile and Sprint's current 5G claims and the consequences this merger would have on American wireless network innovation.” .

The letter was signed by Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

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The Regulatory Mix Today:  Alabama Broadband Grants Announced, Senators Seek Hearing on Sprint/T-Mobile Merger

Alabama Broadband Grants Announced

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced the state’s first broadband accessibility fund grants, totaling almost $1.1 million.  The Broadband Accessibility Fund provides funds for service providers to supply high-speed internet services in unincorporated areas or communities with 25,000 people or less. Under the law, awards cannot exceed 20% of the total cost of a project.  The grants cover seven Alabama communities.  Awardees include Millry Telephone Co., Marcus Cable Associates, Charter Communications and Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative.

“These grants may only represent one step in terms of providing high-speed internet opportunities to rural Alabama, but it is a monumental leap for a program that has the ability to positively impact the lives of so many people,” Gov. Ivey said. “By supplying these services to rural Alabama, we are also providing these areas the ability to step up in education, health care and economic development.”

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 The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.