Dish will obviously have a hard time buying Sprint if SoftBank is allowed to buy it first, which is why the company is asking the Federal Communications Commission to delay any action on the proposed Sprint-SoftBank merger until Dish’s own proposal gets a fair shake. Bloomberg reports that Dish is describing its $25.5 billion bid for Sprint as “an important new development” that Sprint executives need time to consider before the FCC moves to sign off on a deal with SoftBank. In particular, Dish argues that because its “merger proposal is currently before the Sprint board of directors, the question of which transaction the commission ultimately should be deciding is unsettled.” Dish’s announcement earlier this week that it was interested in buying Sprint marked the first time that the satellite television provider had signalled a clear intent to move into the mobile voice and data market.
Dish asks FCC to hold off approving Sprint-SoftBank merger
Updated Apr 18th, 2013 7:21PM EDT
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Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.
