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AT&T is facing opposition from the government and other wireless carriers, but that’s not going to stop the company from pursuing its acquisition of T-Mobile. Speaking at the UBS media conference, AT&T Chief Financial Officer John Stephens confirmed that AT&T is moving ahead with its plan to buy T-Mobile. AT&T has at least $10 billion in assets that it can use to close this deal, and it’s ready to spend it, if that’s what it takes.
AT&T ha a long road ahead of it, though. The carrier must face a DOJ lawsuit and argue that a merger of two of the four largest wireless carriers in the US benefits competition and is good for consumers. Assuming it persuades the DOJ, AT&T then faces a hostile FCC which strongly opposes the deal. If AT&T can pull off a miracle and convince the FCC to rubber stamp the deal, it must contend with Sprint which also filed a lawsuit opposing this deal.
AT&T has a lot of legal red tape it must wade through before it can close on this deal. This uphill battle will cost the carrier both money and time. While AT&T is fighting for its right to merge, Verizon will be expanding its LTE footprint and moving even further ahead of its competition. Yes, AT&T needs T-Mobile’s spectrum for its LTE expansion, but isn’t there another way to get the wireless assets it requires? Is this merger worth falling even further behind Verizon in the LTE market?
[Reuters]
About The Author
Kelly Hodgkins
Kelly spent the last four years covering mobile technology at places like BGR, Gizmodo and The Unofficial Apple Weblog. Before writing, she spent a few years working with and teaching others how to use Adobe Flash and Macromedia Director. Even earlier than that, she spent several years as a Ph.D student in Microbiology. When she's not writing, she can be found fishing the lakes and hiking the mountains of Western Maine with her husband and tribe of children. You can follow her on Twitter @kellyhodgkins.
