Colorado Pulls Out of Lawsuit Attempting to Block T-Mobile/Sprint Merger

Reuters is reporting that Colorado has become the second state to pull out of a lawsuit seeking to stop T-Mobile and Sprint’s proposed merger.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted last week to approve the merger, following the Department of Justice signing off on the deal in July. Despite the government’s approval, nearly 20 states had joined in a lawsuit aimed at stopping the merger.

T-Mobile has been working overtime to try to win over the opposing states. Mississippi was the first to change position, following T-Mobile’s commitment to deploy a 5G network in the state. The company had already made considerable concessions in its efforts to win over the FCC and DOJ, but these commitments were specific to Mississippi. The new 5G network will cover at least 62 percent of the state’s population within three years, and within six years will reach 88 percent of the state’s rural population and 92% of the general population.

Now T-Mobile has been successful using a similar approach to persuade Colorado to pull out of the suit. As part of its agreement with the FCC and DOJ, the combined company would be divesting some of Sprint’s prepaid assets to DISH Network, as the latter company works to become a fourth, alternative carrier. In the agreement with Colorado, T-Mobile agreed to build out its 5G network across much of the state, while DISH pledged to bring in 2,000 jobs.

With Colorado and Mississippi now supporting the merger, it remains to be seen if the company’s efforts will be successful in winning over other opponents.