Justice Department Rejects ATT and T-Mobile Merger, Says Economic Outcome Would Be Unfair

T-Mobile users were ecstatic to hear that the deal to merge T-Mobile with AT&T would not be going through.

A merger would provide T-Mobile subscribers with better service, more phone options, and a better quality provider within the 4G network. But in the same breath, it would force millions of T-Mobile subscribers to become AT&T subscribers.

As the Justice Department saw it, the prices forced onto customers would simply not be fair. According to James M. Cole, a lawyer from the case, “The combination of AT&T and T-Mobile would result in tens of millions of consumers all across the United States facing higher prices, fewer choices, and low quality products for mobile wireless services.”

The merger would result in T-Mobile users having to pay higher prices for AT&T phones and services. In addition, to having to function in the AT&T network, T-Mobile users would sooner or later be forced into buying more expensive phones.

While consumers and the overall phone market are happy to see the deal fall through, the two phone companies are not. T-Mobile was hoping to merge before the company declined even more. AT&T was hoping to become the biggest provider in the United States.

With Verizon and AT&T already holding the majority of the phone market, it is hard to imagine how high prices would rise if the two eventually became the only two legitimate options for subscribers.