So Who Really Stands to Benefit from AT&T’s T-Mobile Takeover?

[Commentary] Who really wins if AT&T buys T-Mobile?

1. The most obvious beneficiary of this takeover is AT&T. By eliminating a competitor, AT&T would gain millions of subscribers, a cache of valuable wireless spectrum and a spot alongside Verizon in a massive wireless duopoly. (So massive in fact that these two companies would rival the market dominance of the top 10 oil companies combined.) AT&T’s shareholders are also poised to reap the benefits of the post-merger “synergies” which translate into tens of thousands of laid off workers and billions less investment. While AT&T tells Congress the merger will lead to more investment and jobs, it’s telling Wall Street the opposite. It’s probably not lying to Wall Street.
2. Deutsch Telekom has been seeking to unload T-Mobile. T-Mobile has been slowly falling behind Verizon and AT&T, thanks in large part to the slanted regulations and unfair playing field that the duopolists have ordered up from friendly lawmakers. The investment necessary to bring it up to speed is not that large compared to the merger price, but it may be more than Deutsche Telekom wants to put in. Additionally, in order to expand its coverage and improve its network, T-Mobile needs more and better spectrum, and has trouble getting it because AT&T and Verizon are so dominant in that arena, too.
3. Communication Workers of America has been ceaselessly urging progressives to support the merger, calling it good for jobs and investment, but what it really means is that the merger is good for the union. CWA has been trying to unionize T-Mobile’s workforce for the last four years, and under AT&T it would have access to those workers. T-Mobile's workforce, of course, should be free to join unions. But what CWA doesn't mention in its plugs for the merger is that a significant number of T-Mobile’s workers won't even have the chance to join the union, because they'll be laid off. The only benefits those downsized workers will see are unemployment benefits.
4. AT&T is one of the biggest contributors to congressional coffers, and it has spent nearly $54 million in campaign contributions over the past 25 years, and over $142 million on lobbying in the last 15. After the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, the cost of running for Congress has spiraled upward, giving contributing corporations even more power to dictate policy to money-hungry elected officials. The signers of this week’s letter have received a total of nearly $1.8 million from AT&T, a number that probably helped the signers avoid taking a long look into the letter’s claims.