Cricket doesn't favor an AT&T, T-Mobile merger

Cricket, spoke out in opposition to AT&T’s pending acquisition of T-Mobile. They go over the major talking points, including the reduced competition and the concentration of power among just two wireless carriers. It is, in essence, a rehash of Sprint’s statement. It’s hard to disagree with them; wireless spectrum is a finite resource, and to have two companies holding the great, great majority of it does not stand to benefit consumers. We’re all hooked on wireless, and so a company or pair of companies that controls that much of the market can basically do anything they want. A statement from Leap’s CEO Doug Hutcheson after the break.

We oppose the proposed acquisition. A competitive marketplace is critical to wireless innovation — and small and mid-sized carriers such as Cricket are driving that innovation. The proposed acquisition would eliminate T-Mobile as an important nationwide competitor in the industry.  It also raises problems of spectrum concentration and impaired access to spectrum by competitive carriers; undercuts access to wholesale voice and data roaming services; and threatens to foster reduced device availability and reduced interoperability of wireless networks and devices, among many other issues.  Those results are not in the public interest.

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