AT&T Antitrust Judge’s Earlier Rulings May Play Role in T-Mobile Decision

The first time U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle in Washington heard an antitrust challenge to an AT&T deal, she said her hands were tied in assessing a smaller competitor’s objection to the proposed acquisition. Mid-Tex Cellular Ltd., a rural cellular company based in DeLeon (TX) argued that the $4.5 billion takeover of Dobson Communications threatened its business and that the Justice Department wasn't treating the “entire market” consistently when it agreed to settle the case.

In a ruling approving the deal, Huvelle said that while Mid-Tex may be correct, under the law the government had “broad discretion” to settle the case with Dallas-based AT&T “within the reaches” of the public interest. After the purchase, Mid-Tex lost the roaming revenue it received from its former partner, AT&T, and could no longer afford to provide services in its rural territory, said Carri Bennet, a Bethesda, Maryland telecommunications lawyer who represented Mid-Tex. The company was sold in 2009.