T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) and Sprint (NYSE: S) had to give up quite a bit to gain merger approval from the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice. The merger is still facing opposition from attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., who have filed suit against the deal.
That opposition comes despite T-Mobile and Sprint agreeing to sell the Boost Mobile brand and certain spectrum licenses to DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) to support a fourth competitor in the market. New T-Mobile, as management refers to the company resulting from the merger, will also support DISH's entry into the market with a wholesale mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreement for seven years.
"I would never bet against Charlie Ergen," T-Mobile CFO Braxton Carter said at a recent investors conference. Ergen is the co-founder and chairman of DISH who has led its push into wireless over the last decade. Nonetheless, T-Mobile's management is confident it can still achieve everything it set out to do if the merger goes through as is. Here are three reasons why.