By taking on AT&T merger, regulators take a stand for common sense
[Commentary] AT&T said its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile would be a boon for consumers. Government regulators aren't buying that line. That's a good thing, because the deal was bound to be a raw one for you and me. The Justice Department charged that the deal would illegally narrow competition in the wireless phone market. Of course, that's not how AT&T, T-Mobile and their allies have been pitching this deal.
They say the deal would help AT&T improve its service, a persistent complaint among its customers. It would allow the company to expand its next-generation data network so that it covered 97 percent of all Americans, instead of just 80 percent as it previously planned. That investment would lead to thousands of new jobs and even allow AT&T to bring call center jobs that had been offshored back to America. The acquisition would eliminate a competitor, AT&T and its allies acknowledged. But, they argued, many American consumers have a choice of five or more carriers in their local markets, so the change would barely be noticeable. Although it's true that there are plenty of small wireless carriers around, the four big wireless companies -- AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint -- control more than 90 percent of the national market. And should the deal go through, AT&T and Verizon combined would control nearly 80 percent of that market.