MetroPCS shareholders approve T-Mobile merger

Yup, that T-Mobile/MetroPCS deal is officially happening.

MetroPCS shareholders have approved the merger after T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom “sweetened the deal,” Reuters reports. The merger would see MetroPCS’s more than 9 million subscribers jumping over to T-Mobile’s network.

The approval doesn’t come as much of a surprise. After the feds approved the T-Mobile/MetroPCS merger in March, it was only a matter of time until MetroPCS shareholders caved.

While an influx of new subscribers is great for T-Mobile, the deal will also give T-Mobile access to wireless spectrum so it can easily expand its LTE network. T-Mobile currently expects to cover 100 million people with LTE by the middle of the year and 200 million people by year’s end.

It’s also yet another feather in T-Mobile’s cap after it just smashed U.S. carrier tradition by announcing new no-contract cellular plans. T-Mobile’s new CEO John Legere hasn’t been shy about calling out its competitors for confusing and unfair contracted plans. Now T-Mobile is offering simple plans starting at $50 a month, and it’s letting subscribers pay off the cost of new phones rather than locking them in with endless subsidized pricing.