
First the DOJ leveed an antitrust suit against AT&T in regards to the company's attempt to purchase T-Mobile. Then the FCC came out and said "Yea, we can support that lawsuit." Now Sprint is throwing the last stone at an already shattered house, piling on, performing an excessive touchdown celebration on AT&T's shattered dreams, with their latest suit against the proposed acquisition.
In the suit Sprint claims AT&T and Verizon, as "Twin Bells", were able to use their size and market share to secure "market advantage with the iPhone, and have been able to lock many customers into two year contracts with the iconic device." Sprints inability to cary the phone, even unlocked iPhones, caused a great deal of defection from the ranks of Sprint's customer base.
If Sprint does start selling the iPhone, arguing that the AT&T T-Mobile deal shouldn't happen because they aren't able to sell the iPhone does look a little silly. There is little doubt that not having the iPhone on T-Mobile or Sprint's networks has hurt both companies, but given the current rumor outlook it doesn't seem like a very smart argument. Arguing in favor of consumer rights and against AT&T monopolizing the telecom department seems a little safer.
Whether or not Sprint gets the iPhone will be made painfully apparent in a few weeks. Same goes for T-Mobile. If both carriers do in fact start carrying the "iconic" device as Sprint referred to it in their legal filings, it will be interesting to see how their customer base, and other potential cellular phone customers respond. Will Sprint finally be able to stop hemorrhaging customers?
Source: Apple Insider
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