![]() ![]() Dish will also receive an "option to acquire certain tower, network equipment and retail assets that are being decommissioned as part of the Sprint and T-Mobile integration process," Dish's announcement of the deal said. Sprint prepaid customers would be switched to the new T-Mobile/Sprint network and become customers of Dish. Per the DOJ's requirements, Dish would have access to the T-Mobile/Sprint network for seven years. ![]() Under the terms of a settlement with the companies, the US government reserves the right to reject the wholesale agreement if it isn't "commercially reasonable." But as a reseller that doesn't operate its own network, Dish wouldn't be able to offer better service than the combined T-Mobile/Sprint. The wholesale agreement and prepaid divestitures would let Dish become a reseller in the near term, offering service to consumers over the T-Mobile/Sprint network. Dish agreed to pay $3.6 billion for spectrum and $1.4 billion for Sprint's prepaid business, which serves 9.3 million customers nationwide. Pending the lawsuit, Dish is being allowed to buy spectrum licenses, wholesale access to the combined T-Mobile/Sprint network, and Sprint's prepaid business including subsidiaries Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. Although the federal government has given its blessing, 15 states and the District of Columbia are suing the companies to block the deal. The selloff to Dish is contingent on T-Mobile and Sprint completing their merger. That could leave 100 million Americans without the option of a fourth carrier. It will take at least a few years, and consumers will be stuck with three major carriers during that time.Įven in the long run, Dish isn't likely to become a full-fledged nationwide competitor because Dish's plan only calls for covering 70 percent of the US population by June 2023. But the department also claimed that the required divestitures will let Dish replace Sprint as a viable fourth carrier.īut will propping up Dish actually replace the lost competition? The answer in the short term is clearly no, because the merger remedies won't result in Dish building a nationwide network overnight. The DOJ acknowledged that T-Mobile buying Sprint "would eliminate head-to-head competition" and threaten the "lower prices and better service" created by that competition. That way, you’ll have continuous coverage and won’t face a late enrollment penalty for Part B.Further Reading It’s official: US government approves T-Mobile/Sprint mergerĭish, the government-selected replacement for Sprint, will create its own mobile service from its existing assets and spare parts the DOJ is requiring T-Mobile and Sprint to sell off. If you do delay Part B enrollment because you are covered under your wife’s plan, remember to sign up for Part B once her coverage ends. ![]() If the employer has fewer than 20 employees, you should sign up for Part A and Part B when you’re first eligible or you will face late enrollment penalties. Otherwise, Medicare will assume you want to enroll in Part B and the monthly premium will be automatically deducted from your Social Security check. You can contact Social Security about this beginning three months before you turn 65. If you do not want to pay a premium for Part B benefits now because you have comparable coverage under your spouse’s employer plan, you will need to let Social Security know that you want to delay Medicare Part B enrollment. If you are already receiving Social Security benefits, you will be automatically enrolled in Part A and Part B when you turn 65. If your wife’s employer has at least 20 employees, you may want to enroll in Part A (if you qualify for premium-free Part A) but delay enrollment in Part B until your group coverage through your spouse’s employer plan ends. A person (or a person’s spouse) with group health coverage through a current employer may be able to delay enrolling in Part A and Part B until that coverage ends, and won’t face penalties for enrolling later, but only if the employer has 20 or more employees. ![]()
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