Senator Herb Kohl Rejects AT&T – T-Mobile Merger; AT&T Rejects His Rejection

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AT&T intends to T-Mobile in the near future, a move that will make this new AT&Tmo giant the number carrier in the USA, with Verizon trailing back on the second spot. Until today, Sprint has been the most adamant advocate against this acquisition, but the carrier found a new ally ready to voice his concerns against the merger.

The chairman of the U.S. Senate’s antitrust subcommittee seems not to appreciate the upcoming merger between AT&T and T-Mobile. Senator Herb Kohl seems to think that such a move would not be beneficial at all:

I have concluded that this acquisition, if permitted to proceed, would likely cause substantial harm to competition and consumers, would be contrary to antitrust law and not in the public interest, and therefore should be blocked by your agencies.

It’s up to federal regulators to decide whether AT&T can go forward with the purchase, and we may see various other political figures comment on the matter. We can also expect AT&T to fight back in this statement war, and, in fact, we already have a response from the carrier directed at senator Herb Kohl:

We respect Senator Kohl. However, we feel his view is inconsistent with antitrust law, is shared by few others, and ignores the many positive benefits and numerous supporters of the transaction. This is a decision that will be made by the Department of Justice and the FCC under applicable law and after a full and fair examination of the facts. We continue to believe those reviews will result in approval of this transaction.

The battle is far from over as there’s much at stake here when it comes to the U.S. mobile business. Who will be the victor? AT&T or Sprint? What do you think? Should AT&T be allowed to purchase T-Mobile or not?