SPRINT ASKS GOVERNMENT TO OPPOSE AT&T/T-MOBILE MERGER

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has already expressed his concerns about AT&T’s purchase of T-Mobile from Deutsche Telecom, but today Sprint officially announced its opposition to the deal in a press release. Sprint states that the transaction will create a carrier that’s roughly three times its size — in terms of revenue — and “reverse nearly three decades of actions by the U.S. government.”

Sprint noted that AT&T and Verizon Wireless would dominate the U.S. wireless postpaid market and be firmly in control of the availability and price of key inputs, such as backhaul, should the deal go through. “Sprint urges the United States government to block this anti-competitive acquisition,” writes Sprint’s senior vice president of government affairs, Vonya McCann “This transaction will harm consumers and harm competition at a time when this country can least afford it.”

If it’s any consolation to Sprint, one FCC official believes that the deal won’t be rubber stamped, and could be a “steep climb at least.”