Cellular South adds another antitrust lawsuit against AT&T
(CBS) - Cellular South joins the party and sues AT&T for being anti-competitive. The regional carrier filed an antitrust lawsuit in the District Court in Washington, D.C. on Monday.
Cellular South is in the company of the U.S. Department of Justice, Sprint Nextel and the attorney generals from nine states in the fight against AT&T's purchase of T-Mobile USA.
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In a press release, Cellular South's vice president for strategic and government relations Eric Graham stated, "If AT&T were to complete this deal, not only would it substantially lessen competition, but it would essentially consolidate the market into the hands of the 'Big Two' - AT&T and Verizon."
Cellular South argued in the suit that AT&T and Verizon have "grown by absorbing other carriers and other means so that they now constitute 'the Big Two' - and each is far larger than any of the other wireless carriers in the United States. Over recent years, the Big Two have increased market share steadily, while other operators have struggled to maintain market share."
It was only last month that the Justice Department filed their suit. Sprint Nextel joined soon after.
"Consumers across the country, including those in rural areas and those with lower incomes, benefit from competition among the nation's wireless carriers, particularly the four remaining national carriers. This lawsuit seeks to ensure that everyone can continue to receive the benefits of that competition," said Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole regarding the Justice Department's suit filed on August 31.
Author and tech analyst Ken Thurber points out, the importance to keep wireless data competitive. "Having broken up AT&T once (and it could be argued sent the US into a 25-year dominance in technology), it is ridiculous to allow AT&T to merge its way into market dominance!" Thurber continues, "Wireless data is the key new technology and this merger would effectively leave AT&T in charge of the space."
It seems like AT&T's battle for market dominance is getting tougher, but the telecommunications company is still in the fight.
The Seattle Times reports that AT&T is trying to sell assets to save the merger. According the to Times, AT&T has reached out to MetroPCS Communications, Leap Wireless International, CenturyLink, Dish Network and Sprint Nextel to "gauge their interest."
AT&T is one of the largest communications company in the world and second largest mobile wireless provider in the U.S. Verizon Wireless tops the list, while Sprint and T-Mobile come in third and fourth place. Cellular South is the ninth largest wireless carrier in the U.S.
