A judge approves T-Mobile-Sprint deal which will affect 100 million customers. This is combining the nation’s third- and fourth-largest wireless carriers and creating a new telecommunications giant to take on AT&T and Verizon. VP & Principal Analyst Frank Gillett shares his thoughts on the deal.

The new T-Mobile that includes Sprint will create a promotional flurry in the short run, and drive competing offers from Verizon and AT&T. But the long-term question of whether there is sufficient competition for wireless service is up for debate. The answer will come from Dish Network and its CEO – if they follow through on promises to invest in a 5G network and become fully competitive over the next 7 years, then there will still be 4 major options.

The new T-Mobile will have a strong 5G capability that combines the two flavors of 5G, millimeter Wave and sub 6 GHz, giving them a short term advantage – but most consumers won’t notice or understand differences, since the industry has failed to properly explain them. So, we’ll get lots of confusing advertising over the next 2 years.