
AT&T Inc. is hanging up on its $39 billion bid to buy smaller wireless provider T-Mobile USA, nearly four months after the U.S. government voiced concerns that it would raise prices, reduce innovation, and give schools and other customers fewer choices.
The long-expected announcement left AT&T grumbling about a shortage of airwaves to expand its services, while scrappy competitor T-Mobile remains up for sale by German parent Deutsche Telekom.
The formal end of the deal was heralded by critics. No. 3 wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp. had feared “an undeniable duopoly” between the proposed new entity and current market leader Verizon Wireless. The two companies would have controlled almost 80 percent of the cell-phone market had the deal gone through.…Read More