TMUS T Mobile US Inc

By Brent Kendall 

The Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission on Friday filed court papers criticizing a lawsuit by state attorneys general that seeks to block the merger of T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp.

The states' lawsuit, now being tried in a New York federal court, marked an unusual rejection of conclusions reached by the Justice Department and FCC, which approved the merger earlier this year after the two carriers made a range of concessions. Those included equipping Dish Network Corp. with the building blocks to create a cellphone network, which would preserve four players in the wireless market.

A group of 13 states and the District of Columbia say the concessions aren't good enough to protect consumers from the possibility of higher prices if the merger is allowed.

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero, who is presiding over the states' case, has called the Justice Department the "elephant not in the room."

The department and FCC fired back at the states in Friday's court filing, arguing the states' merger challenge would undo important consumer benefits secured by the federal government during its review and approval of the merger, such as improved service in rural America.

"Both agencies bring a nationwide perspective to their analysis of the transaction that the litigating states lack," the Justice Department and FCC said in the brief.

Spokespeople for the attorneys general of New York and California, which are leading the merger challenge, declined to comment.

Judge Marrero has heard nearly two weeks of testimony this month from some of the telecom industry's top executives, including T-Mobile Chief Executive John Legere and Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen.

Both sides said they hoped Friday would be the last day of witness testimony in the case. Closing arguments are expected in January.

--Drew FitzGerald contributed to this article.

Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 20, 2019 12:26 ET (17:26 GMT)

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