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Attorney General Frosh Announces Settlement Ending the State's Challenge to T-Mobile/Sprint Merger BALTIMORE, MD (March 11, 2020) - Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh today announced that Maryland and 11 other litigating states reached a settlement with T-Mobile, resolving the states' challenge to the merger with Sprint. Maryland challenged the merger because of concerns that the merger would substantially harm competition and lead to higher prices. A critical feature of the settlement is T-Mobile's pricing commitment to make two low-cost plans available in Maryland for at least 5 years – a plan offering unlimited talk, text, and 2 GB of high-speed data for $15.00 per month; and a plan offering unlimited talk, text, and 5 GB of high speed data for $25.00 per month. T-Mobile also agreed that the same or better plans that T-Mobile and Sprint offered as of February 4, 2019 will continue to be available for two additional years beyond the three year commitment made to the FCC. Other terms of the settlement require the merged company to: - Offer 100 GB of no-cost broadband internet service per year for five years and a free mobile Wi-Fi hotspot device to 10 million qualifying low-income households not currently connected to broadband nationwide, as well as the option to purchase select Wi-Fi enabled tablets at the company's cost for each qualifying household;
- Protect Maryland jobs by offering all Maryland T-Mobile and Sprint retail employees in good standing an offer of substantially similar employment;
- Increase diversity by increasing the participation rate in its employee Diversity and Inclusion program to 60 percent participation within three years; and
- Reimburse the coalition of states up to $15 million for the costs of the investigation and litigation challenging the merger.
"We challenged the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint because we believed that it was a bad deal for consumers who will see an end to real competition when there are only three legitimate networks. said Attorney General Frosh. "This settlement will provide assurances of low prices for Maryland consumers for at least five years." In June 2019, a coalition of states filed a lawsuit to halt the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In February 2020, the court entered a judgment in favor of the companies. The coronavirus (COVID-19) has demonstrated the importance of making sure all have internet access for remote work, on-line classes, and information to keep families and individuals safe and connected. These commitments will be helpful in reducing some of the affordability barriers to connecting to the internet. T-Mobile has also agreed to reimburse Maryland and other litigating states up to $15 million for fees and costs actually incurred and paid in investigating the Merger and in the lawsuit. In addition to Maryland, the states participating in this settlement include Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. | 
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