AT&T blasts FCC for ‘one-sided’ report about proposed merger

AT&T Inc. is accusing Federal Communications Commission staff of writing an unfair, “one-sided” report about the wireless carrier’s attempted $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA. Merger opponent and competitor Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) quickly responded with an admonishment of its own aimed at AT&T (NYSE: T), calling the criticism baseless and reminding the carrier of its Thanksgiving Day retreat from the FCC application. On Tuesday, the FCC made public a scathing, 150-page-plus draft report about the acquisition plan after allowing AT&T to formally withdraw its application for the merger. AT&T said Nov. 24 that it was voluntarily yanking its petition so it could focus on legal proceedings. Overland Park-based Sprint and the U.S. Department of Justice have filed antitrust lawsuits challenging the merger. AT&T’s Jim Cicconi, senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs, previously criticized the FCC for releasing the draft report, saying AT&T had no chance to react or rebut. On Thursday, Cicconi issued a pointed response to the damning report, challenging the agency’s objectivity: “We expected that the AT&T/T-Mobile transaction would receive careful, considered and fair analysis. Unfortunately, the preliminary FCC Staff Analysis offers none of that. The document is so obviously one-sided that any fair-minded person reading it is left with the clear impression that it is an advocacy piece and not a considered analysis. “In our view, the report raises questions as to whether its authors were predisposed. The report cherry-picks facts to support its views and ignores facts that don’t. Where facts were lacking, the report speculates, with no basis, and then treats its own speculations as if they were fact. This is clearly not the fair and objective analysis to which any party is entitled, and which we have every right to expect.” which cite specific examples. Sprint spouted off Thursday with a statement of its own from Vonya McCann, senior vice president for government affairs. McCann called the FCC staff’s report a careful and substantive analysis of the proposed purchase. “Rather than accept the expert agency’s Analysis and Findings, AT&T has chosen to make baseless claims about the FCC’s process,” McCann said. “Let’s not forget that it was AT&T who tried to game the process by requesting to withdraw its merger application in the predawn hours of Thanksgiving. AT&T can’t have it both ways: Either it wanted to have an application that would be judged on the merits, or it didn’t. We agree with AT&T on one point, however: The public should read the Analysis and Findings on AT&T’s proposed takeover.”