AT & T has set itself against the criticism of the FCC because of the planned acquisition of T-Mobile USA to fight back. It accuses the U.S. Communications Authority to assess the situation unilaterally. Supposedly it is keen to prevent the purchase.
“The document is so obviously one-sided that any honest person who reads it, the clear impression given that there is an interest-based document and not a thoughtful analysis,” writes Jim Cicconi, Senior Executive Vice President of External and Legislative Affairs at AT & T, in a blog entry. “In our eyes, the report raises the question whether the authors were not prejudiced.”
Cicconi responded with his opinion on the recent criticism of the FCC, the proposed merger would harm competition and lead to the loss of many jobs. “[The merger] would significantly reduce competition, as well as the associated innovation, investment, consumer prices and services,” it said in a 109-page report (PDF) of the Authority.
The FCC raises the network operators also provided misleading statements about the benefits of the acquisition: “The claims of the applicant, would lead to that the takeover for the creation of jobs in the United States, are in conflict with the internal analysis of AT & T and the observations about to be achieved cost savings. We see also serious questions to what extent the merger of AT & T and T-Mobile USA further damage caused to the public, who claimed the benefits are not outweighed. “
FCC review of AT & T’s opinion (Screenshot: ZDNet)
According to the FCC pecks Cicconi is out individual facts and ignore others. A spokesman for the authority, however, came forward to speak via Twitter. Joel Gurin, director of the Office of Consumer and Governmental Affairs, said he was “deeply worried” about the behavior of AT & T.
Last week had AT & T and the German Telekom withdrew its permit applications with the FCC for tactical reasons. You want to focus initially on the action to prevent the U.S. Justice Department wants the merger. The first hearing is scheduled for mid February 2012.
Recently reported the Wall Street Journal, the two mobile providers were negotiating a joint venture to the resources of T-Mobile USA in the future to share. The exact content of the agreement is not yet known, but the report says AT & T and Deutsche Telekom could jointly use mobile spectrum from T-Mobile USA.
