Signals application for transfer of licenses has been accepted

The FCC has established the pleading cycle for friends and foes of the proposed T-Mobile-Sprint merger to weigh in on the deal and its implications, and they are providing plenty of time for input.

German company and T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telecom would have de facto control over the combined company.

Related: T-Mobile Seeks FCC OK for 100% Foreign Ownership of Merged Company

Petitions to deny the deal are due Aug. 27, oppositions to those are due Sept. 17, and replies are due Oct. 9.

The FCC opened a docket on the deal June 15, but had not started the informal 180-day shot clock, saying it was still vetting the application to make sure it was complete. As of Wednesday (July 18) it has now been accepted for filing and, presumably, the shot clock will be starting.

The clock is informal and just what triggers a restart or start, given its stops and non-starts during the lengthy vetting of the Sinclair-Tribune deal, has proven difficult to predict, a point that has been made both inside and outside the FCC.