AT&T says blocking T-Mobile deal could lead to higher prices

AT&T appears to be throwing everything out there to in its seemingly-failing attempt to buy T-Mobile for more than $39 billion. Now, AT&T is saying that if the government blocks the deal, it could lead to higher overall prices for consumers.

That’s the gist of a Bloomberg report, although the story doesn’t quote AT&T Inc. Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson saying it directly. Instead, it focuses on how AT&T will be constrained by spectrum if it doesn’t get T-Mobile because the government isn’t auctioning off spectrum fast enough. To be fair, the government is working on it but we all know that public entities move very, very slowly.

What’s the case for prices rising if AT&T doesn’t acquire T-Mobile? I’m not quite sure. There might be an argument that without the spectrum and assets AT&T would acquire, it will have to spend more money trying to expand its 4G LTE network and those costs may be passed on to consumers. There’s also the idea that if T-Mobile doesn’t get purchased, it will falter and that could also lead to higher prices.

These seem a little far-fetched to me and I believe that AT&T has to try everything to make the deal go through. The real question is: if AT&T has to divest up to 40 percent of the T-Mobile assets, will the deal even be worth all the time and money? The crazy thing is that spectrum is so important that it still may be worth it.

[Via Bloomberg, image via Shutterstock, Zvonimir Atletic]