Merger to Monopsony: AT&T, T-Mobile, and the Clayton Act

Abstract

In a pivotal antitrust decision, Cellular South, Inc. v. AT&T Inc., 821 F. Supp. 2d 308 (D.D.C. 2011), the United States District Court for the District of Columbia allowed Sprint and Cellular South to pursue their suits to enjoin AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile. These suits posed a significant barrier to the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile. The ability of Sprint and Cellular South to pursue their claims represents a modest but important victory against the domination of the American wireless industry by an emerging AT&T/Verizon duopoly.

Keywords: antitrust, mergers, Clayton Act, AT&T, T-Mobile, telecommunications