WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. lawmaker with oversight of technology expressed concern that AT&T Inc’s plans to take over T-Mobile USA would stifle innovation in the wireless market.

Representative Greg Walden, chairman of the House subcommittee on communications and technology, said he did not want to see a merger diminish the vibrant and competitive nature of wireless.

WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) – U.S. government remedies
to free up more U.S. airwaves for wireless services are not
coming fast enough, and were an important driver behind AT&T
Inc’s (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) $39 billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom AG’s
(DTEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) T-Mobile USA, an AT&T executive said on Wednesday.

James Cicconi, the head of AT&T’s lobbying effort to
acquire T-Mobile, said the merger creates a fast and certain
solution to AT&T’s impending spectrum shortage.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – AT&T Inc’s (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) $39 billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom AG’s (DTEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) T-Mobile USA came under scrutiny from New York’s attorney general, who said he is looking into its possible anti-competitive impact.

Citing a potential “near duopoly” as a result of the proposed deal, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said he wants to ensure the acquisition does not reduce access to low-cost cell phone options.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) – AT&T Inc’s (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
$39 billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom AG’s (DTEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
T-Mobile USA came under scrutiny from New York’s attorney
general, who said he is looking into its possible
anti-competitive impact.

Citing a potential “near duopoly” as a result of the
proposed deal, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said he wants
to ensure the acquisition does not reduce access to low-cost
cell phone options.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sprint Nextel urged regulators to block AT&T Inc’s $39 billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile USA, saying the merger would harm consumers.

“This transaction is fundamentally anti-competitive, and you can’t fix that with merger conditions,” Charles McKee, Sprint’s vice president of government affairs, federal and state regulatory, told Reuters in a phone interview on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – AT&T Inc’s $39 billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile casts doubt on the U.S. government’s ability to swiftly deliver policy to meet the booming demand for wireless services.

Wireless companies have long lobbied for help to deal with what they see as a looming “spectrum crunch” as more consumers turn to mobile devices including Apple Inc’s iPhone to surf the Web.

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) – AT&T Inc’s (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) $39
billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom AG’s (DTEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) T-Mobile
casts doubt on the U.S. government’s ability to swiftly deliver
policy to meet the booming demand for wireless services.

Wireless companies have long lobbied for help to deal with
what they see as a looming “spectrum crunch” as more consumers
turn to mobile devices including Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) iPhone to
surf the Web.

WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) – AT&T’s (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) high-powered
lobbying operation — on steroids even by Washington standards

– will be critical in persuading regulators to approve its $39
– will be critical in persuading regulators to approve its $39
billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom AG’s (DTEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) T-Mobile.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – AT&T’s (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) high-powered lobbying operation — on steroids even by Washington standards — will be critical in persuading regulators to approve its $39 billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom AG’s (DTEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) T-Mobile.

The deal will face criticism from lawmakers and scrutiny from U.S. regulators, who will likely demand major concessions to ensure open competition among mobile and Internet carriers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – AT&T Inc will likely be forced to sell major assets and pledge to expand service to poor areas to get approval from the U.S. government for its $39 billion deal to buy Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile USA.

Antitrust experts say the merger, which will create the largest U.S. wireless service provider, faces a tough review by competition and communications regulators that could take as long as 18 months, but that it will ultimately be approved.