GOP senators voice support for AT&T/T-Mobile

By Gautham Nagesh - 08/04/11 12:28 PM ET

Two Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee's Antitrust subpanel became the latest lawmakers to voice support for AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA in a letter sent Wednesday to the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department.

Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) indirectly responded to letters from their Democratic colleagues, Sens. Al Franken (Minn.) and Herb Kohl (Wis.), earlier this month that laid out detailed arguments on why the government should block the merger.

The Democrats argued the deal would leave the wireless market in the control of AT&T and Verizon, harming consumers and stifling innovation. However, they are among the only lawmakers to publicly oppose the deal, while more than 70 House Democrats have voiced support.

Both the FCC and DOJ are reviewing the deal to determine if it is in the public interest. Echoing a letter from House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) sent Monday, the GOP senators pointed to AT&T's promised benefits of the transaction.

"Based on the evidence available to the Subcommittee, there are a number of reasons why a merger between AT&T and T-Moble may prove to be a positive step along the path to world-class wireless broadband throughout the United States," the pair wrote.

"Some of this evidence suggests that the merger would provide significant and immediate efficiencies enabling enhanced service quality, expanded network capacity, and increased data speeds."

The letter also references AT&T's pledge to deploy next-generation wireless broadband to 97 percent of the nation. Opponents argue the promised efficiencies are speculative at best, and the 4G pledge should not be sufficient cause to approve the merger.

The senators also jabbed their Democratic colleagues by carefully avoiding an outright endorsement of the merger, instead urging FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Attorney General Eric Holder to carefully examine the proposed benefits.

"We are mindful ... that the Subcommittee's review was necessarily limited and that your agencies — not Congress — are properly charged with the responsibility to investigate such mergers and take appropriate action," the pair wrote.