Sprint has never been shy about their feelings regarding the AT&T-Mobile deal – they hate it. They feel the most threatened, should a combined AT&T-Mobile deal happen – so much so, they just filed suit to stop it.
Feeling buoyed by the DOJ who did the same last week, Sprint filed their AT&T-Mobile lawsuit in the same Washington D.C. federal court as the DOJ’s pending litigation. The Sprint suit is based on the same premise as DOJ – the T-Mobile acquisition by AT&T will violate antitrust law and be harmful to end consumers.
“With today’s legal action, we are continuing that advocacy on behalf of consumers and competition, and expect to contribute our expertise and resources in proving that the proposed transaction is illegal,” said Susan Z. Haller, Sprint vice president-Litigation in a press release.
According to Sprint’s filing, the proposed AT&T-Mobile transaction would:
- Harm retail consumers and corporate customers by causing higher prices and less innovation.
- Entrench the duopoly control of AT&T and Verizon, the two “Ma Bell” descendants, of the almost one-quarter of a trillion dollar wireless market. As a result of the transaction, AT&T and Verizon would control more than three-quarters of that market and 90 percent of the profits.
- Harm Sprint and the other independent wireless carriers. If the transaction were to be allowed, a combined AT&T and T-Mobile would have the ability to use its control over backhaul, roaming and spectrum, and its increased market position to exclude competitors, raise their costs, restrict their access to handsets, damage their businesses and ultimately to lessen competition.
So, who else will get in the ‘suing AT&T-Mobile’ line?
