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July 20,2011
The Honorable Eric Holder
Attorney General
Department ofJustice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530
The Honorable Julius Genachowski
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20554
Dear Attorney General Holder and Chairman Genachowski:
We are writing to express our view that AT&T's proposed takeover ofT-Mobile raises
serious questions regarding the future competitiveness ofthe wireless industry. We urge the
Federal Communications Commission and the Department ofJustice to conduct a careful,
comprehensive and expeditious review ofthis transaction and its potential effects on the mobile
wireless broadband market, innovation and consumers across the country.
We urge the Commission and the Department to analyze the potential effects ofthe
proposed transaction on market structure and performance, consumer welfare, and American
jobs. We also encourage you to scrutinize the transaction's supposed coverage and capacity
benefits, with an eye towards determining whether the claimed benefits will actually materialize
and could be achieved only as a result ofthis transaction.
We believe that AT&T's acquisition ofT-Mobile would be a troubling backward step in
federal public policy - a retrenchment from nearly two decades ofpromoting competition and
open markets to acceptance ofa duopoly in the wireless marketplace. Such industry
consolidation could reduce competition and increase consumer costs at a time our country can
least afford it. Further, it could also discourage investment and restrict innovation in both the
wireless and wireline infrastructure market as well as in the associated applications and device
markets.
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
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Letter to FCC and DOJ
July 20,2011
Page 2
For these reasons, it is critically important that the Commission and the Department
comprehensively assess the consequences ofthe proposed transaction. We appreciate the careful
review that the Commission and the Department are undertaking and look forward to the results
ofyour analysis.
~L~~
Edward J. M ey
Member
Energy and Commerce Committee
Sincerely,
John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Member
Judiciary Committee
AnnaG. shoo
---fttmJung Member
Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on
Communications and
Technology