The United States Government has moved to block AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile, a deal worth $39 billion, citing competition issues.
The deal was flagged earlier this year, and was set to be one of the biggest financial transactions in the American telecommunications industry in some time.
Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement that the Department of Justice “has concluded that AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile would substantially lessen competition in violation of antitrust laws”.
“Competition is an essential component of the FCC’s statutory public interest analysis, and although our process is not complete, the record before this agency also raises serious concerns about the impact of the proposed transaction on competition.”
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
