Craig Moffett recently wrote, "The probability of regulatory approval at 50%, the odds of deal consummation are therefore something like 40%." At Bernstein, Moffett was perennially rated the #1 analyst on Wall Street when at Bernstein. He's remarkably creative. He's particularly well informed about D.C. Since at least 2009, he's made a point of actively building D.C. contacts at the highest level. FCC Commissioners care about Wall Street opinion and have often looked to Craig.
Jonathan Atkin of RBC agrees. "We continue to believe the likelihood of a Sprint/T-Mobile deal approval is less than 50%." Walter Piecyk believes, "There is less than 40% chance the Sprint/T-Mobile deal is approved by regulators."
My take: If D.C. gets the facts, the chance is less than 10%. If government people drink the Kool-Aid, it might just go through.
May 2018 Verizon's $20B 5G build is on for adding customers in 2018. Gigabit LTE & Massive MIMO became real in 2017. China, Japan, Korea, and Verizon U.S. 5G are firm, with heavy investment expected 2019-2021. Europe is mostly pr. The term 5G has been bastardized, unfortunately.