Thread by @innercitypress

OK, @SDNYLIVE it's @Tmobile - @Sprint merger trial Day 2, now Q&A on merger code names, answered in arch Deutsche Telekom fashion. Many filings in the docket are sealed from the public: patreon.com/posts/32230850 Inner City Press is live-tweeting the trial - thread

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Q: The first time you heard the term 'Rule of Three' was when Deutsche Telekom was considering merging T-Mobile and Sprint, correct?"
A (Deutsche Telekom) ... there are other competitors... Google... DISH...
Q: Please look at your deposition

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Q: And one of those who referred to this as a four to three merger was Mister John Legere, correct?
A: You'd have to ask him.
Q: And you recall Mr. Legere saying that the regulatory environment would never be better than now to get approval of a 4-to-3 merger?

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Q: When you said over 100 million customers, you meant AT&T and Verizon, correct?
A: Yes.
Q: And you meant that with 80 million customers, you couldn't compete?
A: Correct

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Q: The DOJ deal is designed to make DISH a meaningful 4th competitor, right?
A: Yes.
Q: But within Deutsche Telekom you had discussions about DISH's real ability to compete, right? Fair to say there was no consensus in DT?
A: There were different positions.

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Now the Deutsche Telekom witness insists that his dissing of DISH was referring to DISH as it was in 2014, not now. But here's directed back to his deposition:
Q: Does that refresh your recollection, Line 24, that you were referring to DISH today and not in 2014?

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Q: Since you have never seen DISH compete in the retail mobile wireless business, you have no basis to say they can compete, correct?
A: With all respect, in my 20 years, I have seen many companies come into this market and compete. So we always thought DISH could

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Q: When you say "He had to" this, or you could merge with "him," you mean Mister Ergen, right?
A: Yes, I am sorry.
Q: Because Mr. Ergen has made commitments to the FCC he will abide by them?
A: He has to.
Q: But he has failed before.
A: You have to ask him.

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Q: C band spectrum is coming for up auction, correct?
A: That's what we need.
Q: And T-Mobile could win that auction without eliminating a competitor, correct?
A: Yes. But AT&T and Verizon, they show up with deep pockets. They always get what they want.

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Q: At the October board meeting you started thinking about a Plan B, correct?
A: Correct. This is not our first strategic review.
Q: I now offer into evidence Exhibit 370, 375, 1007, 1034, and 8112.
[Presumably these won't be sealed like so many in this case.]

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Objection! This is a Morgan Stanley document. The witness who commissioned it will be a witness later...

"We want Mr. Höttges to be able to go back to Germany so I will expedite things."

Judge Marrero calls a break. Thread will continue. patreon.com/posts/32230850

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Now under friendly questioning, Deutsche Telekom's Höttges says "We want to build secure infrastructure... In 6 years, 97% of people will be covered by 5G service."
Q: Glenn Pomerantz was talking about all the other ways you could do it.
A: We need over 20% share

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Hottges: "Who is leading on 5G services? It is Korea, it is China."

Wag: from the cheap seats, or the overflow courtroom on the 15th floor with the free lunch for some outside, comes this call: why not a Huawei witness in this trial?

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Q: Will you look everyone in this courtroom in the face and say you will have the number one network?

Hottges: Yes. These is no question we will [would] be better that AT&T and Verizon, or "Dumb and Dumber."

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Hottges: We have a lot of experience, like with MetroPCS in the US. We are building 5G service on the fly. We are increasing spending in the US. This is only possible because of the synergies. If we are not getting this deal I am not seeing how this can happen

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Q: Do you know Mr. Ergen personally, sir? Did you try to reach a merger with him?
A: It never worked.
Q: What's your impression of him?
A: Mr Ergen is perceived as tough, not easy to deal with.
Q: Does that explain the colored works in your texts?
Forced laughter

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Now Judge Marrero is putting his own questions to Deutsche Telekom's Hottges.
Judge Marrero: Were the DOJ conditions a monkey wrench into the deal?
Hottges: There was certain thresholds we couldn't go beyond.
Q: Is the deal still beneficial to you?
A: Yes.

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Judge Marrero: Will the 9 million pre-paid customers make it possible for DISH to really compete?
Hottges: I would not distinguish between pre-paid and post-paid. It is just a way of paying...

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Hottges: If he [Ergen of DISH] cannot go beyond 9 million customers, it will be tough. But he has seven years. There is no reason he cannot do it.

And now Hottges is done as a witness and can fly back to Germany. Stories will follow patreon.com/posts/32230850

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Judge Marrero has just adjourned the trial for 45 minutes, "so you can have a telephone conference with Magistrate Judge Lehrburger."
He doesn't mentioned the corporate lawyers' feeding trough outside the overflow courtroom on the 15th floor. Story on Hottges soon

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Resuming. Witness gets testy: "Mr Mach, we have been going on for ten minutes about things" no longer important after the DOJ deal.
Q: We may not keep going on, but one more document.

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Witness: This is entice enough smart guns to join this company. Capital intensity? My view, to build out a 5G network, it costs about $8 billion. You will find finance partners.
Q: DISH has a history of broken promises?
A: I have complained about that, yes.

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation Witness continues to say no direct broken promises, but he has "read the press, some people claim it."
Now he's shown one of his messages with @JohnLegere, in which he said "DISH has a history of lawsuits with many.
He cuts in: It's the view of many, I read press

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation @JohnLegere Courtroom turns confessional:
Witness says, Has DISH broken promises to the FCC? That, I do not now and should not say. If I have done so, it was wrong.

Inner City Press: these promises and (non) compliance would be subject to FOIA, no? At least in part?

@sdnylive @TMobile @sprint @MatthewLeeICP @Mergers @geekwire @CGasparino @DigitalTrends @TmoNews @Benzinga @sherman4949 @bizjournals @5g_innovation @JohnLegere Courtroom as comedy:
Judge Marrero told lawyer he cannot refresh recollection with a document the witness has never seen before.
Lawyer: I understand your objection, your Honor.

It's not an objection. It's a ruling... patreon.com/posts/32248677

Here in 15th floor, corporate lawyers from @Tmobile guard their catered lunch amid big crowd for mass criminal case in 15C. Story later