Thursday, December 01, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC – Earlier today, AT&T responded in a blog post to the FCC’s recently released staff report on its proposed merger with T-Mobile, calling it unfair and “one-sided.”
Parul P. Desai, policy counsel for Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy division of Consumer Reports, said, “The staff report released by the FCC accurately addressed the claims made by AT&T throughout the merger application process. The fact is that for the second year in a row the FCC did not find the wireless market to be competitive. Based on this and additional evidence, the FCC correctly found that the merger would harm competition. We have consistently warned that by eliminating T-Mobile as a low-cost competitor, price increases would be inevitable, which the FCC also concluded. AT&T’s argument that they did not receive a fair evaluation are simply unfounded and an attempt to distract from the truth – that this merger means higher prices and fewer choices for consumers.”
Contact: David Butler or Kara Kelber, 202-462-6262