T-Mobile, Sprint agree to a merger as U.S. national wireless carriers shrink from 4 to 3

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he two companies say that for the consumers, the deal will result in lower prices, more innovation, jobs and better wireless service, especially in the rural U.S. They're also touting the merger as a way to best position the two companies to compete in the forthcoming 5G race for faster mobile Internet.

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"It's a very simple rule of business. Both companies need each other," said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure. "The reason why this is going to work is that T-Mobile cannot do the 5G strategy without Sprint and Sprint cannot do it without T-Mobile."