T-Mobile and Sprint are still awaiting resolution on their $26 billion merger, and T-Mobile is now slowing down deployment of 5G infrastructure as they wait for the merger to play out in court. A report indicates that T-Mobile is not adding new sites for 5G macrocells currently, as they need the financial boost that regulatory and court approval for the Sprint merger will bring.
The merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, announced in April 2018, was and expected to finalize in the first half of 2019. Due to lawsuits and the lengthy court processes required, the merger has taken much longer.
T-Mobile’s delays in 5G infrastructure buildup will obviously push back the timeline their 5G rollout, but it may have larger implications across the 5G space as well, including potentially higher costs for customers.