Sprint and T-Mobile are officially seeking to merge. If the deal is approved, the resulting company would be the nation’s second-biggest wireless carrier after Verizon, controlling roughly 100 million customers. While the merger could put the companies in a stronger position to take on AT&T and Verizon, it would also eliminate a competitor from the wireless industry. That might not sit well with some policymakers, who say U.S. businesses have grown too concentrated in recent years. What could the merger mean for competition — and your pocketbook? Here’s what to expect.

Why is the deal happening?

The argument from T-Mobile and Sprint largely boils down to scale. By combining, they say, they’ll be in a better position to take on the incumbents, AT&T and Verizon. The deal could eliminate duplicate spending and allow the new company, which would be called T-Mobile, to collect revenue from one, massive customer base.

This expanded scale could have important consumer implications. Right now, the whole wireless industry is racing to deploy a next-generation data technology called 5G. Expect to hear a lot about 5G in the coming weeks as this deal moves forward.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.washingtonpost.com