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T-Mobile is facing less regulatory heat from the Trump administration two days after the company signed a letter committing to end its DEI practices.
The Justice Department announced on Thursday that it was closing an antitrust probe into T-Mobile’s proposed $4.4 billion merger with UScellular.
The news comes soon after T-Mobile told the FCC that it was ending diversity, equity, and inclusion policies — joining a long list of companies that have pulled back from DEI since President Donald Trump was reelected.
“T-Mobile is ending its DEI-related policies… not just in name, but in substance,” the company wrote in a July 8 letter to Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, which was made public a day later on Wednesday.
The company is seeking approval from the commission for two separate deals, including the UScellular merger and the acquisition of the internet service provider Metronet. The DOJ had separately launched an antitrust probe into the UScellular deal.
In a statement about the closing of the probe, Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater raised concerns about ongoing consolidation in the wireless services industry.
“It is of concern to the United States that continued spectrum aggregation by the Big 3 threatens to impede the path for a fourth national player to emerge and challenge the entrenched incumbents with new and innovative offerings,” Slater said.
“In sum, the Department evaluated the likelihood of harm to competition and the potential effects of the transaction on consumers and determined that, on balance, the potential harm and offsetting benefits of the transaction do not warrant an enforcement action,” the assistant attorney general said.
Thursday’s announcement means the Justice Department will not intervene in the proposed merger, but the deal still must be approved by the FCC.
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