4 states added to suit to stop $26.5B Sprint-T-Mobile deal

NEW YORK (AP) — Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Nevada are joining the legal fight against T-Mobile's $26.5 billion bid for Sprint in a case that lawyers on both sides say they hope will reach trial in October.

Beau Buffier, a lawyer for New York state's attorney general, told a judge at a Manhattan federal court hearing today the states were added to a rewritten version of a lawsuit filed 10 days ago.

Nine other states and the District of Columbia had sued to block the merger, saying it will reduce competition and damage consumers by driving up prices for cellphone service.

The companies – the third and fourth largest mobile wireless networks in the U.S. – say the merger is necessary for them to upgrade to a fast, powerful "5G" mobile network that competes with Verizon and AT&T. President Donald Trump has said he wants the U.S. to "win" a global 5G race.

The Justice Department has not yet spoken on whether the deal complies with antitrust laws. The Republican majority of the Federal Communications Commission supports the deal.