Skip to main content

FCC offers public a chance to chime in on AT&T/T-Mobile deal

fcc-logo-largeWhen AT&T announced the planned acquisition of T-Mobile back in March, it was made immediately clear by the Federal Communications Commission that some tough questions would have to be addressed before the deal is approved. One unnamed regulatory official said that AT&T would face “a steep climb, to say the least.”

The intention, of course, is to protect consumers. If AT&T joins forces with T-Mobile, the number of top national wireless phone service competitors in the United States will shrink from four to three. The FCC wants to make sure that the move will be in the best interests of the people who keep these companies alive, which is to say, anyone who owns a cellphone. In that spirit, the government agency is turning to the public for opinions on the planned deal.

Recommended Videos

The FCC continues to deliberate on the issue, and it has now opened things up for public comment. Case number 11-65 is now available on the agency website’s Electronic Comment Filing System. Simply follow that link, click into the related case and explain why you think this is or isn’t a healthy move for the industry from the consumer’s perspective.

This is a public commenting system — there are 147 entered in at the time of this writing — so anything you say will be publicly viewable. If this is an issue you feel strongly about, definitely make sure to step up and make a case. The FCC is working in our best interests, so don’t expect your words to go unheeded.

Adam Rosenberg
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…
T-Mobile’s satellite network just set an industry first
Cell phone tower shooting off pink beams with a 5G logo next to it.

Emergency alerts are one of those smartphone features that many people ignore. After all, are they really that useful?

Yes. Yes, they are.

Read more
T-Mobile has been hit with a $60 million fine. Here’s why
Cell phone tower shooting off pink beams with a 5G logo next to it.

T-Mobile, the third-largest carrier in the U.S., has been hit with a $60 million fine by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS). This penalty is related to its failure to follow the terms of a mitigation agreement that T-Mobile agreed to when it acquired Sprint Corp. in 2020.

According to Reuters, Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's parent company, failed to prevent and report unauthorized access to sensitive data following the Sprint Corp. acquisition. The unauthorized access occurred in 2020 and 2021 when "information (was) shared from a small number of law enforcement information requests."

Read more
T-Mobile’s controversial price increases have gotten it in trouble
The T-Mobile logo on a smartphone.

In May, T-Mobile, the nation’s third-largest carrier, revealed its intention to raise rates on some of its older plans by $2 to $5 per line or up to $20 per account per month. Many of those customers aren’t happy and, according to Phone Arena, are bringing a class action lawsuit against the company.

As we previously noted, the price hikes affect users of legacy Simple Choice, ONE, and Magenta plans. Some users say those increases go against the company’s Price Lock and Un-Contract obligations. The move to see T-Mobile in court comes after thousands of customers filed complaints with the U.S. FCC and FTC.

Read more