T-Mobile US expressed confidence regulators would recognise the benefits of a proposed merger with rival Sprint, as it reported a positive start to 2019.

In an earnings call, CEO John Legere (pictured) said the review process is in the “final innings” and he is confident regulators would see the deal as positive for consumers.

“I’m pleased with the progress we have made on our merger and the process so far,” he said, reiterating an expectation the Department of Justice (DoJ) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would clear the deal during H1 2019.

Legere’s comments come as rumours circulate the merger is on the ropes. Reuters reported T-Mobile and Sprint executives this week urged the FCC to clear the deal, after the regulator quizzed the companies on competition concerns.

Q1 numbers
T-Mobile said it added 1.7 million new subscribers in the first quarter, 656,000 of which chose post-paid phone packages. The operator expects this to be the “best in the industry”.

Earlier this week, rival Verizon reported a loss of 44,000 post-paid phone subscribers during the quarter.

T-Mobile attributed its additions to lower prices and a boost from its expansion into rural parts of the country. It highlighted post-paid phone churn of 0.88 per cent as an “all time record low” for the company.

Net income surged to $908 million, from $671 million in Q1 2018, on revenue of $11.1 billion, up 6 per cent year-on-year.

In a statement, Legere said the company continues to “fire on all cylinders”.

“We’re off to a fast start in 2019 with customer growth that accelerated year-over-year, record low churn and we expect to lead the industry in post-paid phone growth.”