AT&T, Sprint Face 9 State Subpoenas in Reviews of T-Mobile Bid

AT&T’s proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA prompted subpoenas of AT&T and Sprint Nextel by nine states in connection with antitrust reviews.

Sprint’s subpoenas came from Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington, and the U.S. Justice Department, the company said in a June 28 letter posted on the Federal Communications Commission’s website. AT&T Inc. got requests for data from the same states, Michael Balmoris, a company spokesman, said. The disclosure of the states’ subpoenas reveals a growing scrutiny of AT&T’s bid to combine the second- and fourth-largest wireless carriers to create a new market leader, ahead of No. 1 Verizon Wireless. The states are seeking data for customer habits, including when consumers switch carriers, which would help their regulators evaluate the level of competition in their respective markets.