Attorney General James Announces Oregon Joins Lawsuit to Block T-Mobile and Sprint Megamerger.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 12, 2019 Attorney General James Announces Oregon Joins Lawsuit to Block T-Mobile and Sprint Megamerger. Momentum Continues to Grow for States’ Lawsuit with Addition of 16th AG. NEW YORK – Attorney General Letitia James today announced that the State of Oregon has agreed to join the multistate lawsuit blocking the anticompetitive megamerger of telecommunications giants T-Mobile and Sprint, adding to the states’ momentum. “Oregon’s addition to our lawsuit keeps our momentum going, and ensures that there isn’t a single region of this country that doesn’t oppose this anticompetitive megamerger,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “We welcome Attorney General Rosenblum to our 16-member coalition that now includes states representing almost half of the U.S. population. We remain committed to blocking the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint because it would bad for consumers, bad for workers, and bad for innovation.” "It’s important that Oregon join other states in opposing the Sprint-T-Mobile merger,” said Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. “If left unchallenged, the current plan will result in reduced access to affordable wireless service in Oregon — and higher prices. Neither is acceptable.” Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum will become the 16th Attorney General to challenge the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, adding to the momentum of the multistate lawsuit initiated by Attorney General James and the Attorneys General of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. The Antitrust Bureau in the Oregon Attorney General’s Office will bring strong antitrust expertise and experience to the states’ legal team. As a state with major metropolitan centers and sprawling rural areas, as well as a diverse economy, geography, and population, Oregon reflects the widespread nature of the harm that is likely to result from the anticompetitive merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corporation are the third and fourth largest mobile wireless networks in the U.S., and are the lower-cost carriers among the “Big Four” — Verizon Wireless and AT&T round out the market. Intense competition, spurred in particular by T-Mobile and Sprint, has meant declining prices, increased coverage, and better quality for all mobile phone subscribers. T-Mobile currently has more than 79 million subscribers, and is a majority-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG. Sprint currently has more than 54 million subscribers, and is a majority-owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp. The matter is being handled by Antitrust Bureau Chief Beau Buffier; Deputy Antitrust Bureau Chief Elinor R. Hoffmann; Chief Economist Peter Malaspina; Assistant Attorneys General Morgan Feder, Michael Jo, Jeremy R. Kasha, Beatriz Marques, Javier Ortega, Kris Perez Hicks, Amber Wessels-Yen, and James Yoon; Data Analyst William Greenlaw; Legal Assistant Arlene Leventhal; and Chief Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Christopher D’Angelo.