T-Mobile gets federal approval to buy MetroPCS

Federal regulators gave Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of T-Mobile, permission to buy MetroPCS on Tuesday.

The Federal Communications approved the deal without a commission vote, allowing its Wireless Telecommunications Bureau to grant formal approval. The Justice Department's Antitrust Division also announced that it had closed its investigation after concluding that the deal was unlikely to harm consumers or lessen competition.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said that approving the merger will "benefit millions of American consumers and help the U.S maintain the global leadership in mobile it has regained in recent years."

MetroPCS's shareholders must still vote to approve the deal. 

MetroPCS is a regional carrier that offers prepaid monthly service without long-term contracts. The merger is a major boost to T-Mobile, but will still leave it behind third-place Sprint, and well behind industry leaders Verizon and AT&T. 

“Our combined company will have the products, spectrum, scale and resources to shake up this industry and deliver an entirely new wireless experience,” John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile, said in a statement.

The FCC and the Justice Department blocked AT&T's proposed purchase of T-Mobile in late 2011. The regulators said that allowing the second largest carrier to buy the fourth largest would have stifled competition in the wireless marketplace and led to higher prices for consumers.

But the regulators concluded that allowing T-Mobile to buy MetroPCS would bolster T-Mobile's ability to compete with the industry giants.

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