It appears that Dish wasn't the only one who wants the FCC to put the brakes on Softbank's merger with Sprint. Bloomberg reports that the US Justice Department has just requested that the FCC delay the deal as well. No word on why governmental lawyers are making the request, but we'll update this post as soon as more information is available.
Update: While the DOJ has recommended that the FCC delay its approval of the deal due to national security concerns, it turns out that Dish has decided not to stand against the merger, after all. So, Sprint and Softbank have exchanged a private sector problem for a governmental one. The DOJ's scrutiny certainly provides a significant hurdle for the deal to clear, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the two telcos can never be together. We'll have to wait and see whether Uncle Sam gives the merger its final stamp of approval.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sprint
Via: The Verge
Source: Bloomberg (Twitter), Bloomberg
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/29/us-justice-department-fcc-delay-sprint-softbank-merger/
