The saga continues. The Attorneys General of several states are now coming out in support or opposition of the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger, with a total of seven states now opposing the merger and eleven publicly endorsing the move.
One of the states that opposes the move and supports the DOJ suit that seeks to halt the merger is New York, who’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said that ” this proposed merger would stifle competition in markets that are crucial to New York’s consumers and businesses, while reducing access to low-cost options and the newest broadband-based technologies.”
In addition to New York, states that currently oppose the merger and support the DOJ in their suit include California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington. On the other hand, AT&T has public support from a total of eleven states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. The primary reasons behind support of this merger stems from the fact that most stand to benefit from increased wireless build-out and the opportunity for more jobs.
Public Knowledge, the Washington D.C.-based public interest group we follow frequently on MMW, issued the following statement regarding the fact that seven states have now come out against the proposed merger; “We are very pleased that the attorneys general from seven states, including California and New York, have agreed today to join the Justice Department lawsuit that would block AT&T from taking over T-Mobile,” said Gigi B. Sohn, President and Co-Founder of Public Knowledge. “Their participation is an indication that states, too, recognize the tremendous harm that this deal would cause to consumers across the country and to our economy generally, and that they do not agree with AT&T’s claims of benefits from the deal, including the creation of new jobs.”
Obviously much more to come before any decisions are made, stay tuned.
