* US Justice Dept has sued to stop buy of T-Mobile USAWASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - A federal telecommunications
regulator asked AT&T Inc on Thursday to provide data on
claims that its deal to buy T-Mobile USA would mean a net gain
of U.S. jobs, saying its responses on this issue “remain
incomplete.”The Federal Communications Commission said in a letter to
AT&T’s lead attorney Rick Rosen that the agency had asked about
U.S. jobs in a request for information sent in May.AT&T has defended the $39 billion transaction, saying it
would bring 5,000 overseas jobs back to the United States, but
the FCC pressed for data to show there would be a net increase
in U.S. jobs.”Our review of the information currently in our record
suggests that AT&T’s response on this issue remain incomplete,”
wrote Rick Kaplan, chief of the FCC’s wireless communications
bureau.Kaplan also asked for all AT&T data on the “size and
location” of AT&T’s workforce currently and after the planned
merger is consummated. The $39 billion deal would merge two of
the four large national cellphone carriers.In August, the Justice Department sued to stop the deal,
saying that the transaction would lead to higher wireless
prices. A trial will begin on Feb. 13.The FCC must also approve the merger for it to go ahead.Last month, attorneys general from California, Illinois,
Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington
signed onto the effort to stopThe deal would vault AT&T over Verizon Wireless, a venture
of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc , into the No. 1 spot. T-Mobile USA is now owned by
Deutsche Telekom AG .Sprint , the third-largest carrier, has bitterly
opposed the AT&T buy.A key government concern is that T-Mobile, the No. 4
wireless carrier, generally costs less than other carriers so
its disappearance could mean higher prices for wireless
service.
