The approval comes after a consultation process. Comments in favour of the deal came from the New York Building Congress, the New Paltz Regional Chamber of Commerce (NPRCC), the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, The Business Council of New York and 26 members of the public, plus some other local bodies.
Dissenters included the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union, the Public Utility Law Project of NY (Pulp), Dish, Common Cause, Consumers Union, New America’s Open Technology Institute, Public Knowledge & Writers’ Guild of America, West, Inc., and Altice. These parties said the deal will have a negative impact on Sprint customers, and that it would result in job losses, reduced competition and an “excessive” concentration of wireless spectrum and 5G network build out.
The commission said it does not see any interruptions or changes in service for existing Sprint wireline customers; planned upgrades will also continue, including the transition to IP-bsed services. The deal is also not expected to much change the competition wireline market in New York State, as T-Mobile does not provide any regulation telecom service in the state. Finally, it has referred concerns to wireless and MVNO competition to the FCC and Department of Justice reviews.
The CWA expressed expressed disappointment with the decision. The union said that while it applauded the inclusion of job retention requirements, it was disappointed that the requirement was not extended to authorised dealers, who make up nearly 70 percent of the retail workers potentially affected by the merger in New York.
