DISH will be grilled on mobile plans for California at CPUC hearing

27 November 2019 by Steve Blum
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Dish kangaroos ces 5jan2015

DISH is the sole focus of a California Public Utilities Commission hearing next week. Administrative law judge Karl Bemesderfer decided yesterday that there’s enough evidence in hand for the CPUC to evaluate nearly all of the issues surrounding the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.

Nearly.

In his ruling, Bemesderfer mused…

What then do we need to hear testimony about? The significant change in the terms of the proposed merger that has occurred over the past months is the addition of DISH as a proposed fourth facilities-based wireless carrier, replacing Sprint.

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Cross-examination of T-Mobile testimony ordered by CPUC, as DISH’s competitive credibility challenged

26 November 2019 by Steve Blum
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Perry mason cross exam

T-Mobile and, perhaps, Sprint and DISH executives will be cross-examined next week, as the California Public Utilities Commission’s review of the T-Mobile/Sprint merger continues. Karl Bemesderfer, the administrative law judge managing the case, ruled yesterday that an evidentiary hearing next week is necessary, with the exact topics likely determined later today.

A key question raised by opponents of the deal is whether the federal anti-trust settlement that calls for T-Mobile to spin off spectrum, facilities, customers and employees to DISH will create an effective fourth competitor in California’s mobile marketplace.… More

T-Mobile’s “loopholes” and DISH’s number games could leave rural California unserved, merger opponents say

25 November 2019 by Steve Blum
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Tmobile billboard

Opponents of T-Mobile’s proposed takeover of Sprint filed their opinions of the deal as it currently stands at the California Public Utilities Commission on Friday. There’s a few hundred pages of testimony and exhibits to plow through, which are linked below if you’re interested.

One issue in front of the CPUC, which has to decide whether to allow the merger to happen, is the effect it would have on rural broadband service. That includes promises from T-Mobile and DISH, which is being spun up as a competitive replacement to Sprint.… More

T-Mobile gives CPUC some insight into post-Sprint merger plans for California, but won’t make it public

11 November 2019 by Steve Blum
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The hundred-plus pages of testimony submitted by three T-Mobile executives to the California Public Utilities Commission sheds a little more light on what the company intends to do in California when – if – it acquires Sprint and spins off customers, employees and assets to DISH. But most of the specific plans for California submitted to the CPUC last week were filed confidentially.

Chief operating officer Michael Sievert toned down the company’s weasel words about T-Mobile and Sprint workers in California, saying that the number of employees three years after the merger closes will be “equal to, or greater than” the current T-Mobile and Sprint total, even taking into account employees who might be transferred to DISH.… More

The wonderfulness of the T-Mobile/Sprint merger is only more wonderful, CPUC told

8 November 2019 by Steve Blum
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Tmobile store la 23oct2019

T-Mobile, Sprint and DISH filed their responses to the latest questions posed by the California Public Utilities Commission as it extends its review of the T-Mobile/Sprint merger to take into account the settlement reached by the companies with federal anti-trust attorneys.

I’m still working through the nearly 200 pages of “testimony”, particularly the statements by T-Mobile executives. From a quick scan, it looks like they’re following the line laid down by the company’s lawyers: nothing to see here, move on.… More

DISH stalls discovery of its California plans, so PAO asks judge to compel cooperation

7 November 2019 by Steve Blum
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Dish ces press conference 2012

DISH doesn’t want to disclose what its intentions are for the Californian customers, employees, spectrum, cell sites and retail stores it might – or might not – get from T-Mobile and Sprint when – if – the two companies combine. In a motion filed on Tuesday, the California Public Utilities Commission’s public advocates office (PAO) said that DISH stonewalled requests for information about its California-specific privacy policy, and network build out and customer service plans. So, the PAO is asking the administrative law judge managing the CPUC’s review of the merger to “compel responses” from DISH.… More

DISH matters, so CPUC’s T-Mobile/Sprint merger review expands, and extends into 2020

25 October 2019 by Steve Blum
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Dish kangaroos ces 5jan2015

T-Mobile was ordered yesterday to provide more details about how its proposed acquisition of Sprint and its spin off of subscribers, employees, stores, cell sites and spectrum to DISH will affect customers and communities in California. In a ruling, CPUC commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen rejected T-Mobile’s insistent requests for immediate approval of the Sprint merger, and instead expanded the “scope” of the California Public Utilities Commission’s review to include a look at commitments the companies made to federal officials, including the side deal with DISH.… More

T-Mobile tells CPUC it does not “intend to address DISH’s fitness” in Sprint merger review

17 October 2019 by Steve Blum
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The Federal Communications Commission formally approved T-Mobile’s takeover of Sprint on Wednesday, but California’s blessing (or not) will almost certainly wait until sometime next year. How far into next year the California Public Utilities Commission’s review of the merger goes will depend on whether T-Mobile’s plan to transfer people, spectrum, stores and cell sites to DISH, to create a new U.S. mobile carrier to replace Sprint as a fourth competitor in the market, is deemed relevant.… More

With or without California’s approval, T-Mobile looks for quick consummation of Sprint merger

11 October 2019 by Steve Blum
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Tmobile san francisco 18may2019

Does DISH matter? That’s the question that’ll determine whether the California Public Utilities Commission makes a (relatively) fast decision to allow T-Mobile to acquire Sprint. If it doesn’t, lawyers for T-Mobile and its allies hinted that the deal might move ahead without Californian conditions or, indeed, permission.

Yesterday, CPUC administrative law judge Karl Bemesderfer listened to arguments from lawyers on T-Mobile’s side who pressed for a quick end to the case, and from opponents of the deal who pushed for lengthy, formal litigation.… More

T-Mobile/Sprint merger review might go longer and harder in California, as DISH’s act is questioned

10 October 2019 by Steve Blum
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The California Public Utilities Commission should get the dish on DISH, before deciding whether T-Mobile’s proposed takeover of Sprint “would serve the public interest”, according to a protest filed yesterday by a coalition of opponents to the deal. The group includes the CPUC’s public advocates office, two consumer advocacy groups and the Communications Workers of America, the primary telecoms union in California. To do that, they propose a schedule of testimony and arguments that would bump any decision on the merger until sometime next spring.… More