Remember when AT&T was going to buy up T-Mobile and become the largest cell phone company on the planet? Yeah, as it turns out, the government forces that protect Americans from monopolies are still around, and they still have power enough to veto any kind of merger. AT&T has been forced to drop its bid for T-Mobile after running into multiple hurdles from the FCC and Department of Justice.
“The silver lining for the consumers in this is that competition stays in place, at least for the short term,” says analyst Jack Gold of J.Gold Associates. “I find it very difficult to believe this would have resulted in more, rather than less jobs, and reduced rates and improved services, as AT&T claimed.”
As a result of the failed bid, AT&T will pay Deutsche Telekom $4 billion dollars for a breakup fee; the proposed merger would have cost AT&T $39 billion dollars. Rather than merging, AT&T and Deutsche will enter into a roaming agreement to help boost AT&T’s wireless capacity and improve its terrible performance. Meanwhile, Dish Network may be entering into an agreement with T-Mobile in the wake of the failed AT&T bid.
Tags: AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile, FCC, Justice Department, AT&T drops bid for T-Mobile, AT&T stops merger with T-Mobile, government does not approve T-Mobile purchase by AT&T, AT&T buying T-Mobile, mergers, cell phones, cellular phones, Jack Gold, J.Gold Associates, Dish Network