DOJ Finally Says No

Two letters that you would never expect to hear from the Justice Department - N O. They didn't say no to Sirius and XM Satellite, nor did they say no to Comcast and NBC on their merger, not even to Continental and United. But it seems that they have finally decided to say no now. "The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to block the proposed $39 billion merger between AT&T and T-Mobile USA on antitrust grounds, saying a deal between the nation’s second- and fourth-largest wireless phone carriers would substantially lessen competition, result in higher prices and give consumers fewer innovative products."

Now just because a lawsuit exists doesn't mean that a merger is dead. It may simply require AT&T to agree to a number of conditions to allow this merger to move forward. It is the nature of leading companies in various industries to continue to acquire smaller fish in order to keep growing. So has been the case in cable, satellite radio, accounting, banking, airlines, and yes in telecommunications. It is the desire to have the dominant market share through mergers and acquisition to help to vanquish competition.

You would think that this recent update would paint the DOJ as the friend of consumerism. Bust as they have done nothing to limit monopolies and oligopolies recently, why are they starting now with AT&T?