Bloomberg report, they’re talking about selling off assets to smaller carriers, namely MetroPCS and Cricket. This is in response to the Department of Justice’s move to block the deal. Additional spectrum will certainly be of use to Cricket and MetroPCS, but will it be enough to outweigh the negatives that this deal poses for the two companies? If a recent report from Chitika Insights is any indicator, only an overwhelming amount of spectrum will convince these companies to play ball. According to the report, a merged AT&T and T-Mobile could wipe out smaller competitors. That is, the combined entity, even with divestitures, would command almost half of the U.S. wireless market. The other major player, Verizon, has about a third. That leaves just a small sliver for all those other companies. Since no one wants to be in a sliver when one company is in the majority, Cricket and Metro could refuse the deal outright. Both companies have voiced their cases against the merger — MetroPCS here and Cricket here. It would seem odd, then, to see them take what amounts to a bribe that lets the deal go through. We should learn more later this week, when AT&T and the DOJ meet in court. ]]>
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