WASHINGTON – Today Ajit Pai, the former Verizon lawyer turned least popular FCC chairman in history, announced his support for the T-Mobile / Sprint mega merger. The $26.5 billion deal has faced widespread opposition from Internet freedom, labor, civil rights, and consumer groups. It would reduce the number of national wireless carriers from four to three, leading to higher prices and worse plans, with the biggest impact felt by low income people and communities of color.
Fight for the Future deputy director Evan Greer (pronouns: she/her) said, “Ajit Pai doesn’t even try to pretend that he works for the public. He seems to take smug pleasure in being a blatant telecom shill. No one is surprised by today’s announcement, but we will keep fighting to block this merger – which simply put will lead to crappier, more expensive Internet for millions of people.”
In an attempt to sell the deal, the carriers have agreed to several conditions, which fall far short of addressing the harm the merger will cause.
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