Legere, Claure Heading to D.C. to Lobby Regulators

T-Mobile CEO John Legere and Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure are headed to Washington, D.C. this week to try and convince regulators to approve their plans to merge their companies.

They plan to say the combined entity can help efforts to speed 5G deployment in the U.S., amid fears America is falling behind other countries in the race to build the technology. The CEOs are also putting a strong emphasis on jobs, in light of the president’s “America First” focus on U.S. manufacturing and domestic job growth, they told CNBC on Monday. The companies plan to emphasize their plans to invest about $40 billion over three years in their combined network and business – creating jobs through construction of new 5G cell towers, expansion of U.S. call centers and opening new stores.

Legere called the merger “a growth story in which the synergies are more valuable than each company on a standalone basis.” He said President Trump’s tax reform efforts increased the value of the planned merger, said to be valued at about $26 billion. “I think we’re goal aligned from a political agenda,” he told CNBC. Continue Reading