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In its latest filing with the FCC today, Sprint further pressed its case against AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile.
Though Sprint led the redacted document (PDF) with the now familiar arguments that the $39 billion transaction would hurt consumers by eliminating competition, raising prices, and harming innovation, the carrier also devoted significant space to countering AT&T’s controversial claims that the deal is its only solution for solving an impending spectrum crisis.
“Sprint’s filing demonstrates, once again, that AT&T’s purported rationale for the proposed merger–that there is no other way to meet its projected data service demand growth–is simply unfounded,” Sprint said in a statement. “AT&T could increase its capacity by developing its warehoused spectrum, accelerating its 4G network buildout, and implementing a more efficient network architecture, just as other wireless carriers around the world are doing today.”
In an attachment to the filing, Steven Starvitz, the CEO and managing director of Spectrum Management Consulting, wrote that AT&T is not alone among wireless carrier to see a huge boost in wireless data use and that its spectrum needs are not as acute as its rivals.
“AT&T does not need to acquire T-Mobile to solve its claimed network capacity challenges,” Starvitz said. “Instead, AT&T can implement common industry best practices to gain the capacity it asserts is necessary to serve the growing demands of its network”
