Analysts: AT&T, T-Mobile could face long review

In Washington, what's not said can be a powerful message. And when it comes to AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile, a dull response by lawmakers and regulators about the deal has signaled to Wall Street and industry insiders that “an air of inevitability has settled,” according to tech policy analysts.

Rebecca Arbogast and David Kaut of Stifel Nicholaus investment house wrote in a research note that instead, a call by lawmakers for a careful and close review of the deal is really more code language for a protracted review. They don't rule out that the Justice Department or Federal Communications Commission will block the transaction. But they believe that after a one-year to 18-month review, regulators could approve the deal with a bevy of conditions. “The deal couldn't be won in a week, but could have been lost, and it wasn't,” the analysts wrote. Yes, an FCC official has said in reports that the companies will face an uphill battle. That’s what they said about Comcast’s joint venture with NBC Universal, too.