As they seek approval for their proposed merger, T-Mobile USA and Sprint have been presenting the deal as essential for the USA’s leadership in 5G – a particularly sensitive issue for the current administration, amidst its trade wars with the other 5G superpower, China. However, the FCC is not rushing to approve the merger, and this week is suspended its informal, 180-day review process (stopping the ‘shot clock’), to give itself more time to evaluate all the information, including new submissions from the operators regarding the complex issue of how they would consolidate and extend their very different networks. Sprint and TMO have different spectrum, some different suppliers, and have expressed very different approaches to 5G preparations. Sprint was –…