T-Mobile's quid pro quos for the Sprint deal

The letters Sprint and T-mobile layed out as if they were on a crossword puzzle in an illustration.
Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios

T-Mobile dangled carrots before consumers and legislators on Thursday, promising cut-rate plans along with free 5G service to first responders as well as home broadband for 10 million U.S. families.

The catch: The promises all depend upon a successful close of the company's pending deal to buy Sprint.

The night of the wayward texts

Someone texting on a smartphone
Photo: Tim Robberts/Getty Images

If you woke up to a weird text Thursday, you aren't alone: A mysterious wave of messages swept America's phones overnight, delivering puzzling messages from friends, family and the occasional ex, the AP reports.

What happened: Friends who hadn't talked in months were jolted into chatting. The best explanation seems to be that old texts sent in the spring suddenly went through.