Charter never heard back from DOJ about buying T-Mobile and Sprint assets, report says

The acquisition plan was reportedly never responded to.

Corinne Reichert Senior Writer

Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.

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I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.

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Corinne Reichert

July 24, 2019 3:21 p.m. PT

2 min read

Charter Communications, owner of cable brand Spectrum, apparently never heard back from the US Department of Justice after submitting a proposal to acquire Sprint and T-Mobile's wireless assets. Satellite TV provider Dish is believed to be the frontrunner in a $6 billion acquisition, with the deal rumored to be announced Wednesday or Thursday this week.

T-Mobile and Sprint are nearing a sale of assets expected to include the Boost Mobile prepaid wireless service and wireless spectrum in a move to gain regulatory approval for their $26.5 billion merger.

Bloomberg had reported in May that the Justice Department spoke with Charter as well as Comcast about their interest in the acquisition; however, Reuters is now reporting Charter never heard back from the agency. It cited three sources.

The Sprint and T-Mobile merger

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai green-lighted the merger in May, on the condition that T-Mobile and Sprint divested Boost Mobile as well as requiring them to build out 5G in rural areas and offer wireless home broadband good enough to substitute fixed line service.

However, a May Bloomberg report said the DOJ wants T-Mobile and Sprint to form a new wireless carrier. The merger would reduce the number of major carriers from four to three, with Justice Department antitrust chief Makan Delrahim wanting four carriers to remain for more competition, according to Bloomberg.

Earlier this month, Fox Business Network's Charles Gasparino tweeted that Dish co-founder Charlie Ergen is "in the drivers seat on terms" with some still hoping that Charter will jump in and make a bid for the Sprint assets.

Charter launched Spectrum Mobile a year ago. It declined to comment on the report.

T-Mobile declined to comment. Sprint and the DOJ didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

First published at 1:50 p.m. PT on July 24.
Updated at 3:21 p.m. PT: T-Mobile declined to comment

Watch this: T-Mobile, Sprint make $26B deal to merge

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