Christmas comes early for consumers as AT&T surrenders to pressure from the Department of Justice and drops its $39 billion attempt to acquire T-Mobile. Now and then the good guys win. And this is one of those times. If AT&T had been allowed to purchase T-Mobile, consumers would have had even less choice than they do now, and AT&T would have had even less incentive to improve its crummy wireless network. But AT&T surrendered Monday, acknowledging that its chances to beat back the challenge waged by the Department of Justice — a challenged strengthened by pro consumer groups — were DOA, as in dead on arrival. If it had been approved, the $39 billion deal would have created the largest wireless company in the country, leaving Sprint and Verizon to as the only major alternatives to AT&T. Indeed, state regulators that I speak with regularly were convinced that Verizon would have then gobbled up Sprint, leaving consumers facing a classic duopoly. Consumers won today,” Sharis A. Pozen, the Justice Department’s acting assistant attorney general for antitrust, said in a statement. “Had AT&T acquired T-Mobile, consumers in the wireless marketplace would have faced higher prices and reduced innovation.” Although AT&T claimed that the merger would allow it to use T-Mobile’s wireless spectrum to improve its service, consumer groups and federal regulators disagreed, saying Ma Bell could acquire spectrum elsewhere and bolster its network for much less money. “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,” said Craig Aaron, CEO of Free Press, a non-partisan consumer pressure group. “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,” he added in a prepared statement. AT&T also claimed that the merger would create many jobs. But while the company was making that argument, its legal filings with the government said just the opposite: the merger would result in significant layoffs in the combined company, AT&T admitted. So here’s the balance sheet: The merger would have reduced competition in the wireless market, since one of only four major players would disappear. That would result in less competitive pressure to keep prices down and less incentive to develop new and exciting products and technologies. And it would destroy a significant number of jobs, the last thing our weak economy needs right now. On the other side of the balance sheet, you have AT&T contention that the merger would allow it to improve its network. That’s about it, though I do agree that T-Mobile, which spent more than a year fighting to sell itself to AT&T, instead of striking a less obnoxious deal or finding another way to strengthen itself, is now in trouble. It’s not a close call. Be glad the government did the right thing; and if you’re one of the thousands of consumers who protested via email or petitions or phone calls, give yourself a pat on the back. Sometimes the good guys win. Related content feature 8 tips for unleashing the power of unstructured data For most organizations, data in the form of text, video, audio, and other formats is plentiful but remains untapped. Here’s how to unlock business value from this overlooked data trove. By Bob Violino Nov 28, 2023 10 mins Data Mining Data Mining Data Mining opinion What you don’t know about data management could kill your business Organizations without a solid data management strategy are on a collision course with catastrophe. Unfortunately, that’s most businesses, judging by the fundamental disconnect on the importance of strong data foundations. By Thornton May Nov 28, 2023 6 mins Data Architecture Data Governance Master Data Management brandpost Sponsored by Dell Technologies and Intel® Gen AI without the risks Demystifying generative AI: Practical tips for cost-effective deployment in your organization. By Andy Morris, Enterprise AI Strategy Lead at Intel Nov 27, 2023 6 mins Artificial Intelligence brandpost Sponsored by SAP Old age isn’t what is used to be: a versatile solution for a more independent breed of seniors An award-winning company from Down Under gives today’s seniors the power to access the services they need while keeping control of their own destinies and preserving their independence. By Michael Kure, SAP Contributor Nov 27, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe