AT&T says FCC denied it a fair hearing, objective treatment

It's tough to get a fair shake in this world – or so claims AT&T in a shot today across the FCC’s bow.

"All any company can properly ask when they present a matter to the government is a fair hearing and objective treatment based on factual findings," Jim Cicconi, AT&T senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs said in a statement on the AT&T Public Policy Blog today, responding to Tuesday's release of a 109-page report from the FCC, responding to seven months' of information from AT&T on why it should be allowed to purchase smaller competitor T-Mobile.

"The FCC’s report makes clear that neither occurred on our merger," added Cicconi, "at least within the pages of this report.”

In AT&T's view, said Cicconi, the report "cherry-picks facts to support its views, and ignores facts that don't. Where facts were lacking, the report speculates, with no basis, and then treats its own speculations as if they were fact."

He offers detailed examples touching on LTE expansion, job gains versus losses, T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom, spectrum and competition.

"We have summarized here only a portion of the infirmities we see in the FCC’s report," Cicconi added. "We would encourage all observers to read the report itself. We believe that the utter absence of balance is clear, and demonstrates that the document lacks all credibility."

On Nov. 24 AT&T withdrew the applications it had submitted to the FCC and released a statement saying the step was to "facilitate the consideration of all options at the FCC and to focus their continuing efforts on obtaining antitrust clearance for the transaction from the Department of Justice either through the litigation pending ... or alternate means."

In August, after months of reviewing AT&T's proposal, the Justice Department filed a suit to block the measure. It's scheduled to be tried in February.

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, in a Nov. 29 statement accompanying the report, wrote: "When I began to consider this license transfer application between [AT&T and T-Mobile] I initially had concerns about the impact such a proposed merger would have for competition, innovation and investment, and customer service. I decided to keep an open mind because the Applicants offered interesting arguments why these license transfers would serve the public interest."

In conclusion she noted, "The staff Analysis and Findings concludes that the proposed merger would substantially lessen competition whether reviewed at the local market or national market level, and there are substantial questions whether the claimed public interest benefits would occur."

Clyburn's colleague, Commissioner Michael Copps, more plainly addressed the issue in his own statement.

"Given the overwhelming mass of competitive concerns raised in the Department of Justice suit against the proposed acquisition of T-Mobile by AT&T, and the possibly even greater public interest harms identified in the FCC’s Staff Report, I welcome withdrawal of this application," said Copps.

He added, "I would like to think we will no longer be expending significant FCC resources to examine this paradigm-shifting and complex transaction. I would hope the withdrawal is not a strategic gambit along the road to resubmission of this or a similar application in the months ahead."