Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Subscribe
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Subscribe
    Home Latest News
    • Mobile
    • Networking

    ATandT, T-Mobile Face Deeper Probe from Justice Department: Report

    Written by

    Michelle Maisto
    Published May 3, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      Taking a deeper dive into the details of AT&T’s proposed $39 billion purchase of competitor T-Mobile, the U.S. Justice Department has requested additional information from both carriers.

      The agency has also requested information from the pair’s competitors regarding how the deal will affect their businesses, Bloomberg reported May 3, citing people familiar with the situation.

      According to the Bloomberg report, the second round of request for information to both AT&T and T-Mobile will enable the DOJ to extend its review of the proposed deal indefinitely. Soon after the transaction was announced, industry observers said the regulatory review of the deal could take as long as a year.

      Since AT&T’s March 20 announcement of the deal, which would accelerate the carrier’s 4G LTE (long-term evolution) network build-out plans and quickly make it a dominant player in the wireless space, the possible repercussions of the deal have been questioned.

      Sprint, the nation’s third-largest carrier-and a likely recipient of request from the DOJ looking for comment from competitors-was quick to object to the proposed union between the second- and fourth-largest carriers. In a March 28 statement, it vowed to fight the purchase, which it said would hurt innovation, job creation, investment in the American economy and “reverse nearly three decades of actions by the U.S. government and the courts that modernized and opened U.S. communications markets to competition.”

      In recent quarters, Sprint has worked hard to build back up a faltering business, and on April 28 it announced it had added 1.1 million wireless subscribers during its first quarter-its best results in five years. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, during the earnings call, again criticized the proposed AT&T deal by describing what he said was the importance of having a “legitimate” third competitor in the marketplace. It was Sprint’s “innovative influence” in the 4G market that lit a fire under Verizon and likewise sped up AT&T’s 4G deployment timetable, he said, leading the combined result of the United States regaining its “wireless network technology innovation and supremacy,” due to its leadership in 4G. “Sprint is pro-competitive,” he added, “and our investment thesis is that all boats will float higher in a vibrant and innovative industry, especially an industry that has the unbridled potential of wireless.”AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has called the market “fiercely competitive,” and in an April 4 interview with USA Today insisted that it will still “be a fiercely competitive market after this deal is done.”The carrier has also argued that its purchase of T-Mobile would help further the Obama administration’s pledge to extend 4G technology to more Americans, helping to “create new jobs and economic growth in the small towns and rural communities that need them most.”The Federal Communications Commission has promised to proceed slowly and cautiously on the matter, with the “burden of proof” put on AT&T to prove whether the FCC’s approval of the deal would serve the public interest. Some commissioners have been open in their skepticism of the deal. Commissioner Michael Copps, in an April 2 interview on C-SPAN’s “The Communicators,” said the deal would “suck the oxygen out of so many issues” currently pending before the FCC, and that he hoped his colleagues would ask themselves serious questions about “what residue of competition” would be left behind, should the deal be approved.Since the FCC began taking comments on the proposed AT&T purchase three weeks ago, nearly 3,000 consumers have written in to speak their minds-mostly against the deal, according to The Washington Post. Some T-Mobile customers expressed concern about a price hike, should the deal go through (analysts have suggested the same, though AT&T’s Randall has denied it). Other T-Mobile customers fear they’ll be saddled with poorer customer service, while one consumer, Haozhe Wang succinctly voiced the concerns of others.”No monopoly!!” she wrote.
      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.