Public Knowledge and Future of Music Coalition Tell FCC To Reject AT&T Takeover of T-Mobile

AT&T and T-Mobile failed to prove why they should be allowed to merge, even failing to meet their own public-interest standards, according to Public Knowledge and the Future of Music Coalition.

In a filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the groups said that a merged company would be “contrary to the express policies of Congress and the Commission to rely on competition rather than regulation to protect consumers and spur deployment of new services.” The merged entity would be able to assert control over handsets, applications, equipment and protocol development, telco and tower equipment, conditions on retailers and mobile commerce while at the same time having dominant control over ancillary areas such as special access, video program distribution, enterprise data and intercarrier compensation.
Noting the struggles that Apple had in getting AT&T to accept the iPhone, PK and FOMC said, “Device manufacturers with less clout than Apple have even dimmer prospects for innovation in an even more concentrated market.”