NEW YORK – The nation’s third and fourth largest wireless companies reached a $26.5 billion merger agreement Sunday and pending approval by federal regulators, would reduce the U.S. wireless industry to three major players.
T-Mobile and Sprint have been in talks since 2014 but quit on the talks because the Obama administration would not let it go through.
Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint are in heated competition, trying to win over each others’ subscribers.
If the deal goes through, the companies stressed that they plan to have more employees following the combination, particularly in rural areas, than they do as stand-alone companies now.They also emphasized that the deal would help accelerate their development of faster 5G wireless networks and ensure that the U.S. doesn’t cede leadership on the technology to China.