print Asks Regulators to Block AT&T Purchase of T-Mobile

摘要

Sprint Nextel formally announced its opposition to AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile in a nstatement released Monday. The development was not a surprise, given negative comments non the deal by Sprint CEO Dan Hesse at the CTIA conference in Orlando last week. But nHesse stopped short then of asking federal regulators to block the deal. On Monday, his nlobbyists did. "AT&T and Verizon are already by far the largest wireless providers," the ncompany said in a statement. Larry Krevor, Sprint vice president-government affairs, said in nan interview it’s difficult to overstate the threat to competition. "AT&T and Verizon would ncontrol 76 percent of total industry revenue, 72 percent of all industry subscribers," he nsaid. "Those who have been around this business for a while see this as the re-creation of the ncellular duopoly that was initially in place when we created this industry." From the mid-1980s nto mid-1990s there were only two wireless competitors, noted Krevor, who was at the FCC at nthe time. "That was a time when prices didn’t go down," he said. "There wasn’t any ninnovation. Wireless remained a privilege for executives who could afford it."