INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The DOJ's unusual statement about the wireless industry oligopoly shows that the Justice Department staff and antitrust chief "clearly did
not want to approve this," stated Harold Feld, senior VP of consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge
The press release "reads like a complaint," not an announcement of a merger approval, he added.Daniel Hanley, senior legal analyst at the
Open Markets Institute, said that "Slater could easily make a public comment or resign in protest
If she isn't allowed to do the job Congress entrusted her with, then she can leave with her principles intact." The Trump administration is
failing to enforce antitrust laws "even when encountering a blatantly unlawful action that could result in a gov win," he wrote.The cable
industry, which has been competing for mobile customers, issued a statement in response to the DOJ's approval of T-Mobile's transaction
"While cable broadband providers are aggressively investing to deliver real mobile competition, cost savings, and other benefits to millions
of wireless consumers, the Big 3 are continuing their desperate attempts to thwart this new competition through aggressive spectrum
stockpiling strategies," cable lobby group NCTA said while urging policymakers to promote competition and fight excessive concentration of
spectrum licenses.Despite approving the T-Mobile deal, Slater said in her statement that the DOJ investigation "raised concerns about
competition in the relevant markets for mobile wireless services and the availability of wireless spectrum needed to fuel competition and
entry."US Cellular competed against the big carriers "by building networks, pricing plans, and service offerings that its customers valued,
and which for many years the Big 3 often did not offer," Slater said
"To the chagrin of its Big 3 competitors, US Cellular maintained a sizable customer base within its network footprint by virtue of its
strong emphasis on transparency, integrity, and localized customer service
Accordingly, as part of its investigation, the Department considered the impact of the potential disappearance of the services offered to
