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July 26, 2008

Yesterday, AT and T has asked the FCC to deny a merger request from Sprint Nextel and Clearwire.

In its filing with the FCC, the wireless carrier and telecom behemoth claimed that Sprint and Clearwire intended to compete with other national wireless providers, including AT&T.

Yet AT&T added that they failed to make the required showings necessary for the commission's review.

In listing their holdings, AT&T said Sprint and Clearwire have discounted some of the airwaves they intend to use for the Internet service because it isn't operational yet.

AT&T added that if those airwaves were to be taken into account, the proposed merger would be subjected to heightened scrutiny.

AT&T is asking the FCC to apply the same scrutiny on Sprint and Nextel as it has experienced with its own mergers. In 2007, when AT&T acquired Dobson Communications, the FCC examined a block of spectrum that AT&T acquired in a previous auction.

For their part, on June 19, Clearwire and Sprint announced their intention to merge, saying the venture would facilitate a national wireless Internet network that would operate on a block of airwaves partly reserved for schools, cities and other nonprofits.

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Source: AT&T.