AT&T hits wall in bid to boost might

The Obama Administration’s two-pronged attack on AT&T’s T-Mobile deal represents a sea change in antitrust enforcement that stands to have political and business ramifications far beyond dropped calls and deals for the hottest smartphone.

Some antitrust experts say that the Administration’s opposition to the union of the nation’s second- and fourth-largest wireless carriers is a return to the pre-George W. Bush era, when the government was more likely to flex its legal muscle and block deals. The move could galvanize Republican members of Congress who want to curb the ability of the FCC to challenge mergers on the basis of what’s in the public interest. It also stands to send a message to the business world: there is such a thing as too big to prevail.

“The message to corporations is, ‘You can’t do everything you want,’” said Harry First, an antitrust law professor at NYU School of Law. “Fifteen years ago, a merger like AT&T/T-Mobile wouldn’t have passed the laugh test. Since then it’s become less clear what the DOJ and FCC will or won’t allow. Doing this shows some seriousness about changing merger policy.” At the same time, First added, the government’s resistance to the deal “may say as much about AT&T’s legal advice in underestimating that things aren’t like they used to be.”