Why regulators are the big winners in the failed Sprint-T-Mobile deal

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[Commentary] With so much riding on the upcoming auction of wireless spectrum -- an event Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has described as "once-in-a-lifetime" -- and with so few obvious competitive benefits of approving a merger between Sprint and T-Mobile, it comes as no surprise that the FCC has opposed the deal.

Now that the merger has fallen apart, the FCC can turn its full attention to the other mergers on its plate, involving Comcast and Time Warner Cable on the one hand and AT&T and DirecTV on the other. "The big winner here is the FCC," said analyst Craig Moffett.


Why regulators are the big winners in the failed Sprint-T-Mobile deal