Sprint Officially Opposes AT&T Acquisition Of T-Mobile

Sprint has been pretty vocal since the deal between AT&T and T-Mobile was announced back in March. It believes there is reasonable competition today among the four major wireless carriers, which is good for consumers in several ways. Increased innovation, competitive pricing, and better customer service are just a few reasons for the market to have more competition.

Once the market is reduced from four to three, the landscape would change dramatically. Verizon and AT&T are the big guys on the block to be sure, but there is enough share between T-Mobile and Sprint for them to be seen as viable contenders. If the deal goes through, AT&T and Verizon combined will command over 70% of the market in the U.S. Sprint would have around 15% to 16% and regional carriers would make up the rest. When two players have such a commanding presence, anyone else is seen as a bit player. Sprint said as much in their 377 page Petition to Deny that the company filed with the FCC:

"The Commission faces a stark choice in this proceeding. It can reject AT&T's bid to take over T-Mobile and extend the last two decades of robust competition in the wireless industry--competition that has promoted economic growth and advanced U.S. global leadership in mobile communications. Or the Commission can approve the takeover and let the wireless industry regress inexorably toward a 1980s-style duopoly."

Sprint points out that there is no real benefit to acquiring T-Mobile from a coverage standpoint. On page 125 of that document is a map that shows AT&T's coverage versus T-Mobile's coverage. Combined, AT&T gains less than 1% of additional coverage. The document also goes into a lengthy and often technical argument as to why the acquisition is unnecessary for AT&T to deploy and expand its 4G network.

By chipping away at AT&T's technical arguments, the acquisition looks increasingly like a ploy to eliminate competition. The more likely the FTC and FCC are to buy Sprint's arguments, the more likely the deal is to be blocked.

There are still months to go before a decision is reached. You can be sure all parties involved will step up the rhetoric to push their view.