FCC Order on T-Mobile/Sprint Still on Hold; Google Denies Working With Dish

other concessions to win FCC OK. DOJ hasn’t made a decision but indicated it wants the deal to lead to the emergence of a fourth national wireless provider to replace Sprint. Fourteen state attorneys general sued to block the deal (see 1906210033). Google, meanwhile, denied a report it's working with Dish Network to become the fourth carrier. “These claims are simply false,” a Google spokesperson emailed Monday: “Google is not having any conversations with Dish about creating a wireless network.” The state lawsuit changed “the trajectory of the merger process and, no doubt” increased “the desire of the DOJ to have a credible fourth provider before blessing the deal,” New Street’s Blair Levin told investors Monday: “This coming week should see a similar big development, one way or another, as the framework for that fourth is likely to become public this week, or if it doesn’t, the lack of news will have further consequences down the road.” A DOJ decision appears “very close at hand,” said Wells Fargo’s Jennifer Fritzsche. “But as we noted last week, we still think there remain outstanding issues (namely the State AG lawsuit and what concessions are being extracted).” Pai said June 6 (see 1906070058) that he would circulate an order on the deal “in the coming weeks.” The FCC didn't comment Monday.