According to a new investor report from Credit Suisse analysts, a majority of FCC commissioners would rather not have to evaluate a potential transaction like Sprint/T-Mobile. The analysts noted the commissioners would give the transaction a fair hearing and would judge the deal on its merits, but "the burden would seem to fall on the involved parties to convince the commission that it would be beneficial for consumers."
That analysis dovetails with a recent Reuters report that indicted strong resistance to a possible combination of Sprint (NYSE:S) and T-Mobile (NYSE:TMUS) from the FCC and anti-trust officials. According to the report, advisers to SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son are urging him to ease off his quest to combine the nation's No. 3 and No. 4 wireless carriers to challenge market leaders AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) and Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) . Son will outline his views on the state of the U.S. mobile industry during a speech next week that will likely be analyzed for clues as to how intensely SoftBank-owned Sprint will push for a deal with No. 4 player T-Mobile US. Article