A U.S. judge has allow parts of the C Spire and Spring lawsuit against AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA.
Where private plaintiffs have successfully pleaded antitrust injury, the fact that they are defendants' competitors is no bar, Judge Huvelle said before allowing Sprint and C Spire to proceed with their claim that the merger would make it difficult for them to acquire wireless devices. The companies had claimed that after the merger AT&T and Verizon would be in a better position to get exclusive handset deals, while foreclosing their access to the most innovative handsets and raise their costs.
The Judge also allowed C Spire to proceed with its complaint that the merger would have implications on the market for roaming services. As roaming is a necessary input for C Spire, its concern that the removal of T-Mobile from the marketplace would leave only AT&T as a potential GSM roaming partner might be enough to demonstrate its antitrust standing, Judge Huvelle said.
Read More
Where private plaintiffs have successfully pleaded antitrust injury, the fact that they are defendants' competitors is no bar, Judge Huvelle said before allowing Sprint and C Spire to proceed with their claim that the merger would make it difficult for them to acquire wireless devices. The companies had claimed that after the merger AT&T and Verizon would be in a better position to get exclusive handset deals, while foreclosing their access to the most innovative handsets and raise their costs.
The Judge also allowed C Spire to proceed with its complaint that the merger would have implications on the market for roaming services. As roaming is a necessary input for C Spire, its concern that the removal of T-Mobile from the marketplace would leave only AT&T as a potential GSM roaming partner might be enough to demonstrate its antitrust standing, Judge Huvelle said.
Read More