Speaking at an investor conference last week, T-Mobile CFO Braxton Carter discussed the approval timeline for the carrier’s proposed $26 billion deal with Sprint, as well the 5G opportunity for fixed wireless broadband.

Carter said the Sprint merger, which is currently under review by the FCC and DOJ, could close as early as the first quarter of 2019, though second quarter is more likely.  

“The only remaining thing that's happening is depositions with the DOJ, which have started, and will be complete in a few weeks,” Carter said at the Morgan Stanley TMT Conference in Barcelona on Friday, according to a transcript. “And what we're hopeful is we get some early indications of where these regulatory agencies are at by the end of this year.”

Carter reiterated that T-Mobile is “very optimistic” about approval, and noted the company has provided the DOJ with 25 million pages of documents, filed a 600-page public interest statement with the FCC, and engaged in numerous meetings with additional government agencies.

However, in outlining key takeaways from a recent antitrust and public policy summit hosted by MoffettNathanson, senior analyst Craig Moffett said regulatory approval of the T-Mobile/Sprint deal is not automatic, with several event panelists pegging the odds of approval at 50-50.

“The reasons for their concern were fairly straightforward: this deal would result in higher prices for consumers, be inconsistent with precedent and be a fairly easy win for the DOJ,” Moffett wrote in a Monday blog post. “If Sprint wanted to claim that the merger should be approved under a failing firm defense, that rule is very specific and only applies in the case of liquidation.”