Seven States Join DOJ in Opposing AT&T Deal

Seven state attorneys general have joined a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit attempting to block AT&T's US$39 billion acquisition of rival mobile carrier T-Mobile USA.

The states of New York, California, Washington, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio and Pennsylvania have joined the DOJ's antitrust lawsuit against AT&T, T-Mobile USA and T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom, the DOJ said Friday.

The deal, which would create the largest mobile carrier in the U.S., would significantly reduce competition, jack up prices and stifle innovation, the DOJ said in its lawsuit, filed Aug. 31. The DOJ pointed to T-Mobile USA's role as a low-cost competitor to the three other nationwide mobile carriers as a reason to block the deal.

AT&T officials have said they will fight the lawsuit. The company has argued the merger will allow it build out mobile broadband service to more U.S. residents and will help it improve quality of service.

The company continues to seek an expedited hearing on the DOJ's complaint, an AT&T spokeswoman said. "On a parallel path, we have been and remain interested in a solution that addresses the DOJ's issues with the T-Mobile merger," she said.

It is "not unusual" for state attorneys general to participate in DOJ merger reviews, the spokeswoman added. "At the same time, we appreciate that 11 state attorneys general and hundreds of other local, state and federal officials are publicly supportive of our merger," she said.

The Computer and Communications Industry Association, a tech trade group, and Public Knowledge, a digital rights group, applauded the states for joining the lawsuit.

The attorneys general have "wisely weeded through the promises versus the reality of AT&T's takeover bid, and are taking steps to protect their states from the higher prices that come when an industry no longer has competition," Ed Black, CCIA's president and CEO, said in a statement.

Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for The IDG News Service. Follow Grant on Twitter at GrantGross. Grant's e-mail address is grant_gross@idg.com.

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AT&T Microsites Show Local Network Upgrades

AT&T has begun launching localized websites where residents can find out about nearby network improvements -- and get the carrier's pitch for its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA.

The first of the wireless carrier's "microsites," called Focus: Kansas City, went live on Thursday. It has a map of the Kansas City, Missouri, area with numbered icons representing places where AT&T has recently improved its network. Visitors to the site can navigate the map, or search for a particular city or neighborhood by name, to see what has been done in that area.

Below the map is a section for news, which on Thursday linked to an interactive map that showed how much of Missouri would get high-speed LTE (Long-Term Evolution) coverage with and without the addition of spectrum from T-Mobile. It shows vast empty patches being reduced to small, isolated clusters.

A site for the St. Louis area also went live on Thursday. In a press release, AT&T said it launched the sites in response to customer feedback. The carrier has an interest in highlighting network improvements, because network quality is a key differentiator between service providers and the main reason AT&T gave for the T-Mobile deal. That acquisition is still being reviewed by regulators and has garnered fierce opposition from critics who say it will reduce competition and raise prices.

The microsites do give more detailed information about network improvements than is usually available in one easily accessible place. They highlight new cell sites, added wireless capacity and beefed-up wired backhaul capacity. By scrolling over the box listing the upgrades at a particular site, visitors can see a brief definition of each type of upgrade. All work done since the beginning of this year is listed.

AT&T said it will update the Kansas City site every Thursday. The carrier also established a Twitter feed, with the handle @ATT_KC, that will deliver current information about its activities in the area.

The sites also include locations of stores and AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots, as well as information about new devices and tips for managing battery life and personal data consumption.

Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's e-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com

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