These Companies Hate the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger

The grumbles are beginning to pop up over AT&T’s attempted $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile. Here is a rundown of public comments from wireless carriers, and some subtext to explain their positions in terms of self-interest:

• Verizon: Some industry analysts say Verizon Wireless, jointly owned by Verizon and U.K.’s Vodafone, could get a lift if AT&T strips low-cost rival T-Mobile from the market. At the same time, AT&T could be distracted for a year or more securing all the necessary government clearances for the deal, and then integrating T-Mobile into the fold. The lull might help Verizon poach subscribers from its biggest competitor.
• Sprint: If the merger goes through, Sprint will be a distant No. 3 in the U.S. wireless market, which is increasingly looking like a two-man race.
• MetroPCS: Wireless companies may privately grumble about the AT&T-T-Mobile deal. But they also have to position themselves under the basket to pick up any rebounds. In this case, rebounds would be any subscribers or other assets the government might force AT&T and T-Mobile to sell as a condition of their merger. Spectrum — or the airwaves that carry signals for phone signals and wireless-Internet data — will be a particularly hot ticket for MetroPCS if its rivals need to throw assets overboard.
• Leap Wireless: Smaller, localized carriers such as Leap do matter in the proposed mega-merger. The Department of Justice is expected to scrutinize the AT&T deal for its effects on competition for wireless service in individual towns and cities — the markets where Leap’s Cricket wireless service and other mid-tier carriers sometimes beat up on big dogs like AT&T and Verizon.