Surprise: Justice Department Says AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Would Be Anticompetitive
from the did-not-see-that-coming dept
Wow! Well, this is a bit of a surprise. The US government, who had been rubber stamping various mergers for a while now, especially in the telco/broadband space, may finally have had enough. The Justice Department has officially moved to block the merger, technically filing a lawsuit against it on antitrust grounds. From the beginning, most people had assumed that no one would block the merger, though in the last few weeks there were definite rumblings suggesting that the tides were shifting. Even so, having the DOJ jump in with a lawsuit is a surprise. AT&T insists that the move was a surprise to it as well, which is also a bit odd. Typically, the DOJ tends to telegraph this kind of move, in order to either pre-emptively end the merger attempt or to get much greater concessions. It's not entirely clear what pushed the DOJ off the fence on this one, but AT&T accidentally revealing that it had lied about the key reasons for the merger couldn't have helped...Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: anticompetitive, antitrust, merger
Companies: at&t, t-mobile
Reader Comments
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No, Im sure they payed off many people. Problem is they either forgot one, or they payed the wrong people.
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But it still surprises us to see the Government doing sane and sensible things.
Still, kudos for DOJ on this one!
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It is high time that the pendulum swings the other way. Too big to fail means it should be broken up. Somehow we aren't seeing that.
Even this small victory is an improvement. However AT&T is now back where it was before the breakup that resulted in the baby Bells. Isn't it time to do the break up again?
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I've been thinking the same exact thing ever since Alltel was taken over by AT&T for my state then saw what they were charging for data plans.
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I'm glad to see this. I want to keep my T-Mobile customer service which, while not perfect, beats the crap out of AT&T's.
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The merger not happening doesn't really matter, T-Mobile is dying off and the other large Telco's will move in and fill the void anyway. It's likely why the DOJ blocked it, because at the end of the day it won't change anything.
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This fantasy that T-Mob is in fact dying is just that, a fantasy perpetuated in the press by those who want to eliminate the disruptive, low cost carrier alternative that it has actually been all along.
The death of this deal will mean at least 3 billion in T-mob/DT's coffers and the expanded spectrum they needed to continue to compete with AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint. In other words, the death of this deal is a boon to the entire industry, more jobs going forward, lower prices for consumers, greater innovation in products/services, and better overall quality of service.
I couldn't be happier about the news - go DOJ!
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What I have been hearing from the defenders of the merger now is that if there is no merger, T-Mobile will go bankrupt. Are they grasping as straws because I have never heard of this in the first place.
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The death of this merger will in fact give T-Mob/DT the resources they need to effectively compete and gain ground due in large part to the spectrum AT&T will have to give them along with the 3 billion in cash. This is going to make the market stronger and will drive down costs to consumers while forcing the majors to compete aggressively to retain their subs.
It's a win for all except AT&T...
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I don't think so....
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Re: I don't think so....
AT&T is simply trying to hide that fact by dangling the "jobs" carrot in front of the government who by now is no longer buying or drinking the cool-aide...
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My pants...
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Wow...
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Elephant in the Room
Any person not blinded by their own greed can see that this is not a good deal. I am glad that that DOJ
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Well Duh
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Chess strategy
If you think this isn't a 100% politically-driven move by Obama's DOJ (it is important to remember they aren't going to pull a move like this w/o O's directive to do so) then you are dreaming. Obama doesn't do ANYTHING without a deliberate political motive.
I'd bet $100 that DOJ will poo-poo the deal until they get some more grease from AT&T's lobbyists. Don't forget that AT&T is headquartered in Rick Perry's home state. If you think that is irrelevant then you're still dreaming.
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Antitrust?
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Thank You DOJ!
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