The Justice Department had started by asking T-Mobile and its Deutsche Telekom parent to sell wireless spectrum and make "other promises." The carrier balked, according to CNBC tips, as it wanted to limit Dish's spectrum capacity. Deutsche Telekom also wanted to limit the stake of any strategic Dish investor.

If accurate, federal approval of the merger is virtually a done deal given the FCC chairman's recommendation. The question, of course, is whether or not states will succeed in blocking the arrangement. They're still concerned that a combined company would hurt competition, cut jobs and damage low-income communities, and all-clear signals from the DOJ and FCC wouldn't necessarily address the states' issues. It might only take a court ruling to render the approval moot.

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Presenter: Chris Velazco

Script: Chris Velazco

Editor: Kyle Maack

Producer/Camera: Michael Morris