Raymond James Sees Sprint/T-Mobile as Having Good Shot at Approval

in Washington, D.C. “Sprint/T-Mobile deal was often brought up, and success hinges on how the DoJ decides to view the market,” the firm said in a research note. “In recent years, the DoJ moved to a national market approach whereby they had analyzed deals focusing on the entire country, as opposed to its historical approach of individual market competition. If the DoJ were reverted to individual market analysis, we believe [the deal] has a stronger chance of approval.” The FCC won’t be able to abandon its statutory obligation to consider the “public good” in transaction reviews, “but it could refrain from adding on the involuntary concessions,” Raymond James said. The firm said the consensus from its meetings was that there's “100% bi-partisan support to include broadband” in any infrastructure bill. “The downside was that it could fund uneconomic projects that compete with incumbents rather than add to them,” the firm said. “The carriers are actively looking at how they can limit the inclusion to unserved areas only to avoid the BTOP (Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program) issues from 2009 with funds provided to overbuild incumbents.” Building out small cells will remain a challenge, Raymond James said. “The issue is that small cell infrastructure does not ride on the same infrastructure that telecom networks have historically been attached to, namely utility poles owned and regulated by power companies. These facilities have extensive state and federal regulation as to the pricing and application process.”