US DOJ has 'grave concerns' about T-Mobile network shutdown

Antitrust officials astatine the U.S. Justice Department said they person "grave concerns" astir plans by T-Mobile US Inc. to unopen down the wireless web utilized by millions of Boost Mobile customers.

The department's worries were disclosed Monday successful a regulatory filing by Dish Network Corp., which bought Boost arsenic portion of an antitrust colony approved by the Justice Department that cleared the mode for T-Mobile's takeover of Sprint Corp. past year. T-Mobile operates the 3G network known arsenic CDMA that's utilized by Boost.

"The Division is near with sedate concerns astir the imaginable for a nationwide CDMA shutdown to permission a important proportionality of Boost's customers without service," the acting caput of the department's antitrust division, Richard Powers, wrote to Dish and T-Mobile successful a July 9 letter.

The quality implicit the network, which T-Mobile plans to decommission connected Jan. 1, is threatening the elaborate antitrust woody brokered by the Trump administration's Justice Department, which allowed T-Mobile to bargain Sprint adjacent though the woody consolidated the mobile telephone marketplace to 3 nationalist players. The Justice Department had agelong said 4 players were needed to guarantee the marketplace is competitive.

Under the government's plan, Dish bought Boost, Sprint's prepaid service, to assistance make a 4th wireless bearer portion creating an enlarged T-Mobile that could instrumentality connected AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc.

Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen said connected the company's net telephone Monday that the bulk of Boost's 9 cardinal customers are connected the T-Mobile CDMA web and they're present astatine hazard of losing service.

"Our projections amusement a worldly magnitude of customers connected Jan. 1 volition suffer their service, and again this is the astir economically challenged radical successful America, truthful I deliberation it's adjacent much important that these radical don't suffer our service," Ergen said.

T-Mobile, the No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier, has a seven-year network-sharing statement with Dish, but astir Boost customers person phones that aren't compatible with T-Mobile's 4G and 5G technology. Millions of Boost customers volition request caller phones if the 3G web is unopen disconnected arsenic planned, according to Dish.

The quality forced Dish to question different partners to assistance rotation retired what's designed to beryllium the No. 4 mobile service. Last month, Dish entered a 10-year, $5 cardinal network-sharing statement with AT&T, giving Dish's wireless work nationalist reach.

"This is simply a manufactured crisis, orchestrated by Dish, and it is astir money, not customers," T-Mobile Chief Executive Officer Mike Sievert wrote connected a institution blog Monday. "If Dish was truly acrophobic for customers, they would simply instrumentality existent enactment and get their customers caller phones connected time, earlier the web upgrade happens, conscionable arsenic T-Mobile is doing for affected Sprint customers. It's that simple."

The Justice Department said successful its missive that the antitrust colony could beryllium violated "by 1 oregon both" companies if the web shutdown "strands a important proportionality of Boost customers, peculiarly if either oregon some parties person not taken each due steps to affirmatively alleviate immoderate specified harms."

If the Justice Department determines presumption of the colony person been violated, it whitethorn spell to tribunal to enforce the agreement, according to the letter.

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