In 2011, AT&T used promises of better service, increased investment, more jobs and lower prices to try to sell its proposed $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile to politicians and regulators in Washington and around the country. But the facts told a different story. The deal involved nothing more than AT&T doing what it does best: asking the government for a handout to help it crush the competition.
Despite the millions AT&T spent on campaign contributions and misleading advertising campaigns, the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission saw through the smoke and mirrors. After the DoJ sued to block the merger and the FCC released a scathing report on the deal, AT&T dropped its takeover bid.
We stopped this anti-competitive merger in its tracks, but the fight continues. Big phone and cable companies are pushing legal boundaries in their quest to kill competition and divide up the Internet.
