Following in the footsteps of last week’s Justice Complaint arguing against AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA, Sprint has filed a suit seeking to block the transaction. According to a Sprint press release, the lawsuit was filed against AT&T, AT&T Mobility, Deutsche Telekom, and T-Mobile in Washington D.C. as a related case to the Department of Justice’s suit, and focuses on the “competitive and consumer harms” which would result from the merger. The company argues that those include higher prices and less innovation, a further entrenchment of the AT&T and Verizon “duopoly”—the transaction would give the two carriers more than three-quarters of the market and 90 percent of the profits—and a further weakening of the market position of Sprint and other independent wireless carriers.
“Sprint opposes AT&T’s proposed takeover of T-Mobile,” said Susan Z. Haller, vice president of Litigation for Sprint. “With today’s legal action, we are continuing that advocacy on behalf of consumers and competition, and expect to contribute our expertise and resources in proving that the proposed transaction is illegal.”
