Shentel bought eastern Kentucky cable ISP Big Sandy Broadband, it said Thursday, to expand in contiguous markets.

T-Mobile Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray and others from the carrier met FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr on the carrier’s proposed buy of Sprint. The executives discussed the likely effect of the combination over the next two years, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-197. "In each year capacity increases of the merged firm would exceed the combined standalones, throughput increases of the merged firm would exceed the standalones, and the expected net present value of consumer welfare would also increase,” T-Mobile said: “The T-Mobile representatives additionally summarized their discussion with the Transaction Team regarding porting data versus other switching data.” Communications Workers of America said three union members from T-Mobile met Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and had meetings with aides to Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel. They delivered a petition signed by 818 wireless workers, which “expresses the workers’ concerns that the proposed merger … will result in the loss of many American jobs, cuts in wages and commissions, and a corresponding reduction in service quality.” The FCC noted it received requests from four more state attorney general offices seeking access to confidential numbering resource utilization and forecast reports and local number portability data related to their investigations into the transaction. It said they are similar to earlier requests by AG offices in New York and nine other states (see 1808300031 and 1810220052). The federal commission wants to give carriers an opportunity to contact the AG offices in Colorado, Iowa, Maryland and Massachusetts "or to take any other action they may deem appropriate if they have concerns or oppose disclosure," said a public notice Thursday, noting comments or objections shouldn't be sent to the FCC.

Liberty Global plans to sell its Swiss cable ISP operation, UPC Switzerland, for $6.3 billion to Sunrise Communications Group, it said Wednesday. It said UPC's network has 1.1 million customers and passes 2.3 million homes, and the deal is expected to close by year's end.

The Delaware Chancery Court order restricting when Altice USA can terminate News 12 employees (see 1902210003) was a negotiated agreement between Altice and the plaintiff Dolan family.

T-Mobile and Sprint executives met William Davenport, chief of staff to FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, to make the case for their proposed combination. “Low income and rural consumers will be some of the greatest beneficiaries,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 18-197. “New T-Mobile’s network will deliver fiber-like speeds that will enable the merged company to provide an attractive competitive choice to today’s limited wired in-home broadband options.” Despite some reports a decision by DOJ is imminent, one is likely “weeks, if not months, away,” New Street wrote investors. “There could be an interim recommendation that suggests a number of conditions that would enable the deal to be approved, before an actual negotiation on conditions. Depending on the conditions, such a recommendation could be either very good or very bad for the deal.” The data regulators use in assessing the impact of a combination is key, New Street said. If government relies on porting data “that is bad for the deal and if it relies on T-Mobile’s preferred data, it is good,” New Street said.

A Delaware Chancery Court Feb. 13 decision "is a strong step" toward protecting News 12 Networks jobs and its "unique hyper-local programming," former News 12 President Patrick Dolan said Wednesday. He and other Dolan family members are suing Altice USA for the News 12 layoffs allegedly violating terms of Altice's buy of Cablevision (see 1809050032). Chancery Judge Joseph Slights ordered that while litigation is underway, Altice can't terminate News 12 employees for other than "actual, bona fide cause" or with prior court approval. He also set trial for Sept. 4. Altice, in a motion to dismiss brief earlier this month, said Cablevision and Altice are the only parties to the agreement, not the Dolans, and thus they lack standing, and the covenant at the basis of their complaint didn't survive the deal's closing and is unenforceable.

Atlantic Broadband in coming months plans to upgrade the Springfield, West Virginia, cable system and integrate it into its existing footprint in Hampshire County, the cable ISP said Wednesday as it announced it had completed acquisition of the cable system from Comcast. It said it will offer expanded video services, high-speed internet and digital phone after the work is complete.

T-Mobile fired back Wednesday at Chris Shelton, president of the Communications Workers of America, who had slammed the Sprint/T-Mobile deal Tuesday in a C-SPAN interview (see 1902190068). “CWA has a track record of inaccuracy and subsequently no credibility,” emailed Kathleen Ham, T-Mobile senior vice president government affairs. CWA earlier had said T-Mobile’s buy of MetroPCS seven years ago would eliminate 10,000 U.S. jobs, Ham said: “The reality is that nearly 3x more people come to work for our Metro business every day -- compared to the time of the merger. That is job growth.” The T-Mobile/Sprint deal will be “jobs positive from day number one and create at least 11,000 jobs” in the U.S., she said. Ham is a key T-Mobile official working with federal regulators on deal approval.

Amazon agreed to buy smart home mesh network company eero, it said Monday. Tuesday, an eero three-pack, priced at $362 at Amazon vs. $399 at eero’s website, included an eero and two beacons billed as a tri-band mesh Wi-Fi system to replace traditional routers and Wi-Fi range extenders. An optional $99 yearly eero subscription brings recurring revenue potential. The eero website says the device plus subscription includes an ad blocker, a “SafeSearch” feature for Google search results, content filters, accounts for security apps and priority support. Dave Limp, senior vice president-Amazon Devices and Services, said eero’s team invented a Wi-Fi solution “that makes connected devices just work.” Customers can set up a system in under 10 minutes, share the network, program parental controls and run speed tests from the app. Eero communicates with the cloud to receive instructions and is “self-updating” and “self-fixing,” Amazon said. All employees will reportedly receive an offer to join Amazon.

New Street’s Blair Levin defended his comments on potential problems facing T-Mobile buying Sprint, which were attacked by T-Mobile CEO John Legere Thursday (see 1902070009). Legere’s job is “to sell the merger, and like every CEO in a merger review, he has to express confidence that it will be approved until it is public that it will, or it won’t” be, Levin wrote investors Friday. “Our job is to sift through lots of different policy data to find a pattern that predicts an outcome prior to that public announcement.” Levin’s findings that the deal could be in trouble could be wrong, he conceded: “We owe our clients our best interpretation based on our experience in, and in observing, the government.” Levin questioned Legere’s claims that review was in the last inning and a decision will come soon. Levin expects action in late Q2 or Q3. Members of the 4Competition Coalition, which opposes the transaction, said they met with aides to all five commissioners. The group is made up of “a diverse array of 23 companies, consumer organizations, labor unions, and industry associations,” said a filing in docket 18-197 posted Friday. “All members are united in their view that the Sprint/T-Mobile merger as currently proposed must be blocked. 4CC believes consumers deserve more choices, not fewer. Lower prices, not higher. Better service, not worse.”