Nine states have filed a lawsuit to block the proposed merger between wireless carriers Sprint and T-Mobile. California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Virginia, and Wisconsin claim the merger would reduce competition and drive up the cost of cellphone service. The result would have a particularly tough impact on lower-income people.

“The T-Mobile and Sprint merger would not only cause irreparable harm to mobile subscribers nationwide by cutting access to affordable, reliable wireless service for millions of Americans, but would particularly affect lower-income and minority communities here in New York and in urban areas across the country,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James in a statement issued by the states.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said that the result would be a “compressed market with fewer choices and higher prices.”

Read the full article here.