Franken cheers antitrust move against AT&T
WASHINGTON - One of Capitol Hill's staunchest opponents of the merger between AT&T and T-Mobile applauded the U.S. Justice Department's announcement today that it will go to court to block the formation of a telecom behemoth.
"I have long believed that this merger would be a terrible deal for consumers, and I'm pleased the Department of Justice has taken the wise step of officially opposing it," said DFL Sen. Al Franken in a statement.
Franken is concerned that if the the merger were to go through, AT&T and Verizon would control more than 80 percent of the wireless market and would raise prices on consumers and limit innovation.
In July, Franken had asked the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission to reject the merger.
But he's taken heat from labor unions, which strongly backed his election in 2008, for his stand. AT&T is unionized and T-Mobile isn't. A merged company could increase the number of union members at a time when the labor movement is struggling.
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