Authorities approves Sprint purchase of Nextel

Authorities approves Sprint purchase of Nextel

U.S. authorities have finally given their go ahead to the acquisition of Nextel by Sprint. The decision would help Sprint to solidify their its number 2 position in the United States wireless market. The Federal Communications Commission has unanimously voted to approve the $36 billion deal. Moreover, the Justice Department’s antitrust division has also given its aye to the deal without objecting to any proceedings.

The approval had one condition, which the companies would have to meet. They require the new entity to abide by commitments to begin offering service in the 2.5 Gigahertz (GHz) band within four years. The merged entity would be known as Sprint Nextel and they would be offering hi speed Internet connectivity through wireless on these wavelengths.

The FCC consider the merger to help improve the quality of services of the Internet connectivity in the United States and also look forward to further deployment of advanced wireless services. They also said that the merger in now ways would hamper the growth of competition in the wireless connectivity market. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin added: “This action will ensure that consumers continue to receive the benefits of wireless competition, such as reduced prices and increased coverage.”

US Citizens can look forward to improvement in quality of the services from this merged entity from two of the biggest names in their fields.