Plot thickens in T-Mobile/AT&T case

Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

In a filing this week in Washington, AT&T asked US District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle to reject Sprint and Cellular South's requests for access to confidential information it turned over to the Justice Department for its lawsuit seeking to block the deal, arguing the judge denied a similar request last month by Sprint. AT&T said the US is now backing the companies' bid for “special privileges” in the case.

The reason Sprint says it needs the information is because it, along with Cellular South, has filed its own lawsuit challenging the proposed sale, says TG Daily. Sprint argues it has a legal right to all information regarding the terms of the deal.

The purchase of T-Mobile, which would allow AT&T to leapfrog into the title of biggest carrier in the nation, has proven to be potentially more trouble than it's worth.

The Justice Department sued Dallas-based AT&T and Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile unit on 31 August, saying a combination of the two companies would “substantially” reduce competition, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. Seven states and Puerto Rico joined the government's effort to block the deal, which would make AT&T the biggest US wireless carrier.