Back at the FCC: Congress Responds to AT&T Merger

With everyone on vacation or preparing for vacation, the FCC released letters from our Congressional representatives regarding their feelings on the AT&T acquisition of T-Mobile.

None of the opinions express should come as a surprise to anyone following this debate. The longest and most detailed letter was drafted by Rep. Herbert Kohl, Chairman of the House Anti-Trust Sub-Committee.

Kohl strikes a blow for smaller regional wireless carriers, noting that they already pay high access charges to AT&T and Verizon to complete cellular calls.  And with these two former Bells acting as primary toll collectors for long-distance connections, regional wireless players are not very motivated to go national and face steeper chargers or other barriers.

For the record, here are the opinions:

Rep. Markey: Nay
Rep. Conyers: Nay
Rep. Eshoo:  Nay
Rep. Kucinich:  Nay
Rep. Baca:  Yay
Rep. Thompson:  Yay
Rep. Griffin:  Yay
Rep. Kohl : Nay
Senator Franken: Nay

Updated: And Herbert Kohl’s letter:

Herb Kohl’s Letter to FCC on AT&T Merger