AT&T / T-Mobile Deal Raises Anti-Trust Questions
AT&T / T-Mobile Deal Raises Anti-Trust
Questions
AT&T's unexpected announcement Monday that it plans to acquire T-Mobile has raised a number of antitrust questions that federal regulators will have to address moving forward. Chief among them: will American consumers be able to get fairly-priced mobile phone service if there are just two national providers from which to choose?
The proposed merger of the nation's second and fourth-largest wireless providers would move AT&T past Verizon as the nation's biggest mobile service provider after completion of a $39 billion cash and stock transaction. Insiders say the move would also prompt Verizon to go after Sprint Nextel, which would be a very-distant third and the only national provider remaining outside of Verizon and AT&T.
Industry experts believe that officials with the US Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission will likely take at least a year to make a decision on the deal, which would likely carry substantial conditions if allowed to proceed. Regulators will conduct an in-depth analysis of markets across the nation to determine how many wireless choices would be available after the deal in various communities. If the deal is approved, officials are likely to require the new biggest US wireless company to sell off some of its assets, such as wireless spectrum, cell towers, and even subscribers, in a number of markets that it dominates.
It is certainly far too early to know if the AT&T / T-Mobile merger will be approved, but what is certain is that any approval would only come after many serious political and antitrust policy questions are thoroughly examined.
AT&T's unexpected announcement Monday that it plans to acquire T-Mobile has raised a number of antitrust questions that federal regulators will have to address moving forward. Chief among them: will American consumers be able to get fairly-priced mobile phone service if there are just two national providers from which to choose?
The proposed merger of the nation's second and fourth-largest wireless providers would move AT&T past Verizon as the nation's biggest mobile service provider after completion of a $39 billion cash and stock transaction. Insiders say the move would also prompt Verizon to go after Sprint Nextel, which would be a very-distant third and the only national provider remaining outside of Verizon and AT&T.
Industry experts believe that officials with the US Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission will likely take at least a year to make a decision on the deal, which would likely carry substantial conditions if allowed to proceed. Regulators will conduct an in-depth analysis of markets across the nation to determine how many wireless choices would be available after the deal in various communities. If the deal is approved, officials are likely to require the new biggest US wireless company to sell off some of its assets, such as wireless spectrum, cell towers, and even subscribers, in a number of markets that it dominates.
It is certainly far too early to know if the AT&T / T-Mobile merger will be approved, but what is certain is that any approval would only come after many serious political and antitrust policy questions are thoroughly examined.
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