AT&T Outguns Sprint in Lobbying

As the regulatory battle begins over AT&T's proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA, rival Sprint Nextel Corp. is at a big disadvantage to AT&T in a critical area: lobbying muscle.

The company, the nation's No. 3 wireless operator by revenue, argues that the deal would stifle innovation and harm consumers by further entrenching a duopoly in which Verizon Wireless, the current market leader, and an expanded AT&T, now No. 2, would control most of the US wireless market. Sprint, however, spends just a fraction of what its competitors do on lobbying efforts. In 2010, the company devoted $2.5 million to lobbying, according to campaign contributions database OpenSecrets.org, compared with AT&T's $15.3 million. T-Mobile USA and its parent, Deutsche Telekom AG, spent $1.3 million and $3 million, respectively.