AT&T has asked the FCC to deny a merger request from Sprint Nextel and Clearwire.
AT&T claimed in its filing with the FCC that Sprint and Clearwire state that they “intend to compete with other national wireless providers – including AT&T – yet they fail to make the required showings necessary for the commission’s review.”
In listing their holdings, AT&T said Sprint and Clearwire have discounted some of the airwaves they intend to use for the Internet service because it isn’t operational yet. If those airwaves were to be taken into account, the proposed merger would be subjected to heightened scrutiny, AT&T said.
Sprint and Clearwire announced their intention to merge last month, saying the venture would facilitate a national wireless Internet network that would operate on a block of airwaves partly reserved for schools, cities and other nonprofits.
AT&T is asking the FCC to apply the same scrutiny on Sprint and Nextel as it has experienced with its own mergers. Last year, when AT&T bought Dobson Communications, the FCC examined a block of spectrum that AT&T acquired in a recent auction.
In May, Sprint and Clearwire announced their plans to partner in order to bring WiMAX to market sooner.
