Victory! MADCo Members React to AT&T's Decision to Drop Bid for T-Mobile

For months Media and Democracy Coalition members have worked tirelessly to educate the public on the dangers of the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger and speaking on behalf of consumers across the United States. Today, on December 19th, 2011, following opposition from the US Department of Justice and a scathing Federal Communications Commission Staff Report, AT&T has dropped its bid to acquire T-Mobile USA.  Below, take a look at our members’ response as they celebrate a win for competition, innovation, jobs and – ultimately – a win for all consumers.

Access Humboldt

    Access Humboldt applauds the announcement today that AT&T will not acquire T-Mobile. History has shown that such consolidation of network ownership raises prices, reduces quality, diminishes choice, and hinders innovation across the broadband marketplace. Thanks to coordinated grassroots organizing, informed public policy, and regulatory deliberations at the Justice Department, the Federal Communications Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission, a very bad deal has been derailed. The bottom line is that concentrated absentee ownership of broadband media networks is harmful to the public interest.

        -Sean McLaughlin, Executive Director

CALPIRG

    Cell phone users just got an early holiday gift. We’re not surprised to see this flawed deal fail. As proposed, AT&T’s takeover of T-Mobile would have done little to protect American consumers or ensure that they enjoy competitive and dynamic wireless services. The U.S. wireless market is already concentrated among a handful of companies, and the proposed merger would have made matters worse. Regulators and consumer groups must continue to work together to protect consumers and develop competitive markets.

        -Jon Fox, Consumer Advocate

Center for Media Justice

    Since AT&T first announced its intent to takeover T-Mobile, the Center for Media Justice has continuously raised concerns about what role a duopoly would mean for historically marginalized communities— particularly communities of color and America’s poor who disproportionately rely on access to mobile broadband to find employment, access healthcare, advance their education and organize for social and economic justice.

        -amalia deloney, Media Policy Field Director

Consumers Union

    It’s an early holiday gift for consumers. From the first day that this deal was announced, we have warned regulators, lawmakers, and consumers of the dangerous consequences of this merger. Regulators clearly saw through AT&T’s claims of better service and saw what we saw – a combined AT&T/T-Mobile would mean higher prices and fewer choices for consumers.  It would mean a wireless market dominated by a powerful duopoly with little incentive to compete with other carriers. We applaud the Justice Department and the FCC for their actions.  We urge them to apply this same strict level of scrutiny to future spectrum transactions as Verizon attempts to consolidate more spectrum.

        -Parul P. Desai, Policy Counsel

Free Press

    This deal has been as good as dead for months because the facts never matched AT&T's fabrications about the benefits of the merger. As the public, the Justice Department and the FCC long ago recognized — and now even AT&T must admit — this deal would have only meant higher prices, fewer choices and tens of thousands of lost American jobs. Good riddance. The Obama administration deserves praise and credit for standing up to AT&T's relentless lobbying and propaganda. And the American public can breathe a sigh of relief that this time the public interest trumped AT&T's self-serving attempt to kill off what little competition remains in the wireless market.

        -Craig Aaron, President and CEO

Future of Music Coalition

    Since AT&T first announced its intent to acquire T-Mobile, Future of Music Coalition has steadily raised concerns about what the mega-merger would mean for the creative community — particularly musicians who increasingly rely on affordable access to mobile broadband platforms to reach audiences and advance their careers.

    We are honored to have worked closely with many in the music community, including the genre-busting Los Angeles band Ozomatli, to demonstrate why the merger would be bad for creators. Likewise, we commend the tireless efforts of many of our peers in the public interest space for bringing the unadulterated facts of this deal to the attention of policymakers and regulators. The outcome shows the how a small but dedicated community of consumer and artist advocates can achieve positive results for Americans from all walks of life. We couldn’t ask for a better Christmas present.

        -Casey Rae-Hunter, Deputy Director

Main Street Project

    AT&T has finally decided to rethink what's possible. The benefits of this merger were overstated from the beginning and the company's arguments were short on facts.

        -Steven Renderos, Media Justice Program Director

    We've known all along who would bear the costs of reduced competition,
    fewer jobs and higher prices. It's those who can least afford it-low incomes families, people of color and rural communities. This time their voices were heard.

        -Danielle Mkali, Media Justice Organizer

Media Alliance

    The American public should be celebrating. It's pretty rare when a major corporate merger is stopped because the results would be higher costs and less choices for consumers. This is one of those rare times. There is no better Christmas present. Hopefully, this is only one of many public interest victories to come.

        -Tracy Rosenberg, Executive Director

Media Access Project

    While AT&T surely will say that it must quickly obtain additional spectrum, the filings in this case show that AT&T has been hoarding spectrum.  It should instead use its existing spectrum more efficiently and expedite deployment of more efficient LTE technology. It is likely that there will be renewed efforts to reduce competition in wireless services, but today’s events should embolden policymakers to take a strong position in favor of competition.

    Today’s announcement proves that law trumps politics.  This anti-competitive transaction clearly exceeded permissible standards.  AT&T and T-Mobile thought they could push it through by using lobbyists and political pressure, but the FCC and Department of Justice held firm.

        -Andrew Jay Schwartzman, Senior Vice President and Policy Director

Media Literacy Project

    The end of AT&T’s campaign to eliminate mobile competition and jobs is a gift to working class New Mexican families this holiday season. However, we know that this decision was not the result of AT&T putting people before profit. This result was won by media justice advocates and our allies in New Mexico and nationwide.  Though we are certain this is not the last we’ve heard from AT&T/T-Mobile, we want to take a moment to acknowledge this victory for consumers.

    Keeping T-Mobile as a price anchor amidst rising mobile costs allows poor communities and communities of color to have some peace of mind around the holidays. At this time of year, when people are keeping in touch with loved ones by phone with increased frequency, this news is a reminder of how critical communication is to all of us.

        -Andrea Quijada, Executive Director

National Hispanic Media Coalition

    AT&T has finally accepted that its bid for T-Mobile has run its course. NHMC is very pleased that the FCC and the DOJ have so justly put the little guys ahead of giant corporations in their review of this merger. Latinos pay more for cell phone service than any other ethnic or racial group, paying the most on AT&T and the least on T-Mobile. In addition, because T-Mobile's workforce is nearly 50% people of color, and an estimated 20,000 T-Mobile employees would have lost their jobs as a result of this merger, Latinos and other people of color would have been disproportionately harmed. For these reasons, NHMC has worked hard over the past seven months to educate people about the harms of merger. We are ecstatic to have defeated it.

        -Jessica González, Vice President of Legal and Policy Affairs

Public Knowledge

    In this age of cynicism, it is important for the American people to see that Washington does not always go to the highest bidder. The Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission stood up to tremendous lobbying pressure as AT&T spent tens of millions of dollars trying to push this merger through.

    We hope that AT&T and T-Mobile will focus on deploying the best, most competitive networks possible rather than trying to merge to duopoly. These businesses are fundamentally sound, and have what it takes to bring broadband and jobs to America on their own. We look forward to seeing them rethink what's possible, rather than trying to rule the air.

    We are thankful that the proposed AT&T and T-Mobile merger is now officially dead. The unthinkable merger would have lead to higher prices and fewer choices for consumers, less innovation, and the loss of American jobs.

        -Harold Feld, Legal Director