Senator Kohl urges FCC to block AT&T, T-Mobile deal

Senator Herb Kohl has penned a letter to the Federal Communications Commission urging it to block the proposed buyout of T-Mobile USA by AT&T. In the letter, Kohl says that the buyout "would likely cause substantial harm to competition and consumers, would be contrary to antitrust law and not in the public interest, and therefore should be blocked by your agencies." In particular, he points out that low-cost competitor T-Mobile would be effectively eliminated from the market. T-Mobile announced new, lower-cost plans today, which has prompted many to bemoan the buyout by AT&T, as it is felt that AT&T would not implement the same kind of consumer-friendly plans that T-Mobile has.