Former Rep. Boucher: FCC made ‘wrong decision’ on AT&T merger

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) made a mistake in blocking the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile, according to the former chairman of an influential House subcommittee. Former Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) said the FCC and the Justice Department were wrong to conclude that the merger of two companies would threaten competition. "It seems to me … that the wireless side is the most competitive" in the telecommunications industry, Boucher said. "I think it was the wrong decision." Boucher said he’s baffled that regulators would block the AT&T deal after allowing the merger of Comcast and NBC Universal — which he said met the same “severe resistance” from public interest groups. Allowing the Comcast deal while blocking AT&T’s was “a mistake,” Boucher said.