@jbtaylor on tech

I'm a spokesman for Sprint. This personal site is where I share news stories and my views about our company, our phones and other devices. I also write a bit about tech policy, the wireless industry and life in Washington, D.C.

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Searching Louisiana Public Service Commission

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What Louisiana Regulators Actually Decided on AT&T's Bid to Takeover T-Mobile

Yesterday, the Louisiana Public Service Commission did not vote to "approve" or "okay" AT&T's bid to takeover T-Mobile. The Commission, which had voted earlier this year to open a docket to review the proposed transaction, voted "not to oppose" AT&T's bid.

The distinction is an important one. The Commissioners don't want AT&T touting approval at the Federal Communications Commission. That's why they worded their motion the way they did.

But don't tell that to AT&T or the media who covered this story. 

How did these outlets get it wrong?

As soon as the vote was cast yesterday, AT&T's PR team immediately reached out to the wire services and to the Capitol Hill publications proclaiming that the Commission had "approved" their bid for T-Mobile. And outlet after outlet took AT&T's word for it.

When I reached out to these outlets to ask for a clarification or in some cases, a correction, I got a great deal of resistance from some reporters. From others, I got an honest effort to fix things, but in those cases it was too late to make a change to meet the print deadline. From still other reporters, I got a shrug of the shoulders. From a few outlets, I got them to add a statement from Sprint into their story, but even those refused to change their incorrect statement that the LPSC approved the transaction.

I know I should have a thicker skin, but AT&T pulled the same stunt in Louisiana earlier in the spring. When the staff issued a preliminary recommendation not to open a docket, AT&T issued a statement to media claiming that the Commission had approved the transaction.

AT&T's version of the truth was dutifully reported by multiple outlets. When I pointed out that wasn't the final word, media refused to update or clairify their incomplete stories.

But days later, the LPSC's Commissioners voted 4-1 to open a docket on the transaction. There was no approval after all. Sadly, I'm not aware of one news outlet who issued a correction or retracted their earlier story.

You would think media who were fooled once by AT&T wouldn't be fooled again.

You'd be wrong. Yesterday proved that.

And the simple truth is -- and I'm sure the folks at AT&T will enjoy reading this -- I don't have the time in my day nor the outside resources to hold every reporter and every news outlet accountable when then get a story wrong. AT&T does -- but I don't.

I have to count on journalists being commited to getting the facts right and being fair in their coverage. I have to count on reporters who want to ask hard questions of me and everyone else involved in this debate. I have to count on media who will hold policymakers accountable. And I have to count on journalists who are willing to own their mistakes.

And despite my frustration with how this one angle was covered, overall, I'm confident that the reporters covering this much larger story are working extremely hard to do a thorough job for their readers, viewers and listeners.

I'm also taking solace in the fact that no amount of amount of lobbying or nimble PR by AT&T (or for that matter Sprint or anyone else) can change the outcome of a law enforcement investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

I started my career working at DOJ and I have to tell you, the career attorneys and other professionals who work for DOJ guard the independence of the Justice Department zealously. They bristle if anyone in Congress or the White House or in a company like Sprint or an interest group like Free Press or Public Knowledge tries to lobby them to steer an investigation one way or another.

It just doesn't work that way.

These are lawyers' lawyers. They are committed to the law and to doing the right thing. All they want to know are the facts.

I'm quite confident that the facts before the DOJ and the FCC do not merit approval of AT&T's bid to takeover T-Mobile. Time will tell if I'm right or not.

In the mean time, I'm trying to remember that journalists are just like me and everyone else I know -- we don't like to admit it when we make a mistake. And I hope that the folks I badgered yesterday understand that it's my job to make sure they report the whole story. Yesterday, I was doing just that.

 

Wall St. Journal: "AT&T's Critics on T-Mobile Deal Growing"

Media_httpfarm3static_bbdrc
via flickr.com

The Wall St. Journal is out with a story tonight which points to growing opposition to AT&T's plan to takeover T-Mobile. The story will be in tomorrow's paper.

It highlights the following:

The story quotes two industry analysts expressing doubt about AT&T's plans getting approved.

"AT&T opened with such a tightly controlled and well orchestrated launch, they controlled the story line for awhile," said Rebecca Arbogast, an analyst with Stifel Nicholas. "Now we are seeing some say, 'Wait a minute, is this really the market structure we want in the U.S.?' "

Arbogast's remarked were followed by some from Craig Moffett, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein. "The air of inevitability has drained away," Moffett said.

Perhaps that's why AT&T's CEO Randall Stephenson looks so angry in this photo I snapped of him at last week's House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on the proposed T-Mobile takeover.

Things are just not going well for AT&T.

p.s. I have more pictures and details from the hearing in my previous post. Be sure to click on each photo and read the captions. (That's the best part!)

Louisiana Regulators Vote 4-1 to Review T-Mobile Takeover

Media_httpfarm5static_boowz
via flickr.com

Earlier this week, the Louisiana Public Service Commission voted 4-1 to open a regulatory docket to review AT&T's bid to takeover T-Mobile.

In an interview with Bloomberg News, Louisiana Public Commissioner Foster Campbell said, "It’s too big a deal to let it go through without getting everybody’s questions answered, and making sure this is a good deal for the consumer."

AT&T for its part, argued unsuccessfully against such a review.

Of course this is a pattern with AT&T. Their lobbyists are working overtime to convince state regulators that they shouldn't weigh in. They don't want anyone to ask them any questions.

The action isn't limited to Louisiana, though.

Today Sprint filed documents in San Francisco calling on the California Public Utility Commission to open an investigation into the transaction. We also responded in West Virginia to AT&T's ridiculous assertion that we had no right to call for a hearing there because we don't operate a 4G network in the state. (They also criticized Sprint because our workers have not chosen to affiliate with a union.)

We said in part that West Virginia regulators “should not be distracted by the sideshow AT&T has presented.”

Our filing went on to say that we think that the proceeding in West Virginia is not about Sprint, but that it, "is about consumers, innovation, competition and the future of the wireless market in West Virginia,”

p.s. The photo of this post is one I took in New Orleans last year in Jackson Square. You can just make out the statue of Andrew Jackson, the hero of the Battle of New Orleans and a former President of the U.S. Jackson was a president who believed in listening to the public. He once famously said, "You are a den of vipers and theives. I intend to rout you out, and by eternal God, I will rout you out."

For the record, he was not referring to AT&T as the company had not yet been formed. His remarks were aimed at those seeking to establish a banking monopoly. I can only imagine what Jackson would think about AT&T's bid to takeover T-Mobile -- for that matter, cell phones in general.