Sprint/Nextel merger

CRA economics consultants were engaged to provide economic analysis before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Department of Justice (DOJ) evaluating the likely competitive effects of the $35 billion merger of Sprint and Nextel. The empirical work contained in CRA’s filings demonstrated that the capacity of rival suppliers to serve additional subscribers was sufficient to alleviate any concerns that the FCC and DOJ might have about the potential for anticompetitive output reductions or price increases as a result of the merger. These filings also described the likely efficiencies resulting from this merger, including the acquisition of a nationwide footprint in spectrum that will be used for a host of advanced communications services. The FCC and DOJ approved the merger without any spectrum or subscriber divestitures, explicitly citing CRA’s findings in their approval announcement.