| Friend,
It’s official: T-Mobile is selling out, and the days of the “Un-carrier” are dead.
The company that shook up the industry by ditching contracts and lowering costs is now doing its best AT&T impression in pursuit of a disastrous mega-merger.
There’s still time to stop it: Tell the FCC to reject the T-Mobile/Sprint merger, which would wreak havoc on prices, jobs and the entire mobile marketplace.
Back in 2012, we were all amazed when T-Mobile’s brash CEO, John Legere, stormed into the market with a hot-pink focus on customers.
Faster upgrades brought the newest smartphones into low-income households. “No-Credit Check” plans meant that the racist credit-rating system could no longer serve as a barrier to entry for people of color.
That’s why it isn’t surprising that 56 percent of T-Mobile's customers are people of color, as are 45 percent of Sprint’s customers.1
Broadband is vital to 21st-century life: Tell the FCC to reject the T-Mobile/Sprint merger and stop greedy corporate sellouts from further marginalizing people of color.
Ultimately, this isn’t just about T-Mobile’s deals and plans — it’s about the pressure they exert on the entire mobile industry.
Every time T-Mobile cuts its prices, Sprint and other companies create new deals in response. If this merger is approved, the loss of two competitors will mean higher prices for all of us — and that will disproportionately harm people of color, low-income communities and residents of rural and outlying areas who have few options to connect.
We could go on and on about this, but instead we’ll leave you with the words of the T-Mobile CEO himself. Last year, he wrote the following on his blog as he looked back at his first 5 years:
This industry is far from where it needs to be, and its entire structure and landscape is changing ... we will continue to drag the duopoly (yep, kicking and screaming) into treating their customers better and delivering more value! |
Hey John: You don’t fight the AT&T/Verizon duopoly by becoming it.
Let’s call B.S. on John Legere, the FCC and everyone else whose actions don’t match their claims that they care about people’s right to connect.
Thanks for all that you do—
Collette, Nilda, Candace and the rest of the Free Press team
freepress.net
P.S. More competitors means better access for all: Tell the FCC to stop the T-Mobile/Sprint merger and protect the public from greedy corporations.
1. “The T-Mobile/Sprint Merger Is Bad News. Here's Why,” Free Press, May 1, 2018: https://act.freepress.net/go/25409?t=8&akid=10352%2E10296224%2Euk8jJL  |
