AT&T slams FCC report on T-Mobile merger

New York : AT&T Inc blasted the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday for compiling what it called an unfair and biased report on what would happen if AT&T were allowed to buy T-Mobile USA.

AT&T agreed in March to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion (Dh143.13 billion), but the deal has encountered opposition, first from the Justice Department and then from the FCC. Analysts now give it only a slim chance of going through.

The FCC took the unusual step of releasing its analysis of the merger on Tuesday. It found "questions of fact" about AT&T's stated justifications for the merger and dismissed most of AT&T's arguments. It said competition in the industry would suffer if AT&T swallowed T-Mobile, and potentially lead to higher prices for consumers.

AT&T immediately attacked the release of the report, saying it was a draft that had never been voted on by the five-member commission. The "questions of fact" would have been addressed at an administrative hearing that now won't take place, since AT&T has withdrawn its merger application.