AT&T and T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom withdrew their application to the FCC to transfer the mobile licenses after the agency announced on Nov. 22 that staff there had found the US$39 billion acquisition to be contrary to the public interest. The FCC on Tuesday granted the request to withdraw the license transfer application, but released the 157-page staff report on the merger despite opposition from AT&T.

AT&T and T-Mobile “have failed to meet their burden of demonstrating that the competitive harms that would result from the proposed transaction are outweighed by the claimed benefits,” the staff report said. “The potential loss [of T-Mobile as a] competitive force in the market is a cause for serious concern.”

via FCC Riles AT&T by Releasing Report on T-Mobile Merger | PCWorld Business Center.

The FCC disputed AT&T’s claim that less competition would lead to more “jobs” and “lower rates”.  Both of these were flat out lies, as anybody with the barest sense of how mature markets operate would attest.

Expect AT&T’s politicians to come out against the FCC, hardcore, in 3, 2, 1….

AT&T is taking exception that anyone would question their flat out lies, and further exception they don’t get to spin this report, and even further exception that actual citizens of this country can now read it.

AT&T called the release of the report “troubling.” The report is an internal document meant to raise questions before a hearing before an administrative law judge, the company said. The next step for the FCC would have been an administrative hearing if AT&T had continued to pursue the license transfer application.

“This report is not an order of the FCC and has never been voted on,” Jim Cicconi, AT&T’s senior executive vice president for external and legislative affairs, said in a statement. “The draft report has also not been made available to AT&T prior to today, so we have had no opportunity to address or rebut its claims, which makes its release all the more improper.”