@jbtaylor on tech

I love this iconic line from a Few Good Men: "You can't handle the truth!"

When it comes to AT&T's bid to takeover T-Mobile, every time they make a move in court, I secretly hope that Jack Nicholson walks in and shouts that famous line.

The judge wouldn't go for it, but it would make for a great drama. And I think consumers would cheer because they are growing weary of AT&T's repeated efforts to mislead them and misrepresent the facts.

But as it is, we already have plenty of drama -- I'm not sure we need Jack Nicholson. Just last week, AT&T asked the court to dismiss antitrust lawsuits filed by C Spire Wireless and Sprint. In court filings, AT&T refused to discuss any of the allegations made by C Spire and Sprint. AT&T just wants it all to go away.

Today, in a joint filing in Federal Court, C Spire and Sprint responded to AT&T's motions to dismiss the suits.

Here was the statement Sprint just released to media on behalf of Susan Z. Haller, Sprint's vice president - litigation.

“Thirty-four years ago, the Supreme Court of the United States established a simple and unassailable principle in antitrust law which AT&T, Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile refuse to acknowledge: their competitors have the right to bring an antitrust complaint to stop AT&T’s proposed takeover of T-Mobile if they allege that the proposed transaction is likely to harm their ability to compete.

Last month, Sprint and C Spire Wireless, in a manner fully consistent with this long-held principle of antitrust law, did exactly that and explained how the proposed takeover of T-Mobile would harm consumers and hurt competition across the wireless industry.

Instead of addressing the facts brought forth in these complaints as the law requires, AT&T, Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile have chosen to ignore them. Both the Court and American consumers deserve better.

With today’s filing, we are keeping our promise to continue to fight for consumers and for competition in the wireless industry.”

Oral arguments in these cases begin on October 24.

Once again, I want to remind readers that this is my personal blog. The only opinions which are Sprint's in this post are included in the statement attributed to Susan Haller. 

This afternoon, Cellular South, the country’s largest privately held wireless company, announced that it had filed an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T. The litigation asks the Court to block AT&T’s bid to takeover T-Mobile. Headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi, the company serves approximately 870,000 customers in Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

Vonya B. McCann, Sprint’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, issued the following statement to media:

“Today Cellular South stands with the U.S. Department of Justice, seven state Attorneys General and Sprint in asking the Courts to protect American consumers from the harms to competition, innovation, and pricing that likely would result if AT&T is allowed to takeover T-Mobile. As this growing chorus of opposition shows, this proposed transaction violates antitrust law and is not in the best interests of consumers and the American economy.”