AG looking into wireless merger

The office of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will review AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile.

The proposed merger would create the nation’s largest wireless company with 130 million subscribers nationwide, opening the door to a near duopoly shared by the merged firm and Verizon, according to the AG’s office.

Schneiderman’s team will analyze the merger for potential anti-competitive impacts on consumers and businesses across New York.

T-Mobile, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, is a low-cost provider of choice for New Yorkers and has 34 million customers nationwide, making it the fourth-largest wireless company in the country.

The proposed merger, the release says, could start a process of consolidation that would lead to two firms — AT&T and Verizon — controlling nearly 80 percent of wireless subscribers nationwide.

Schneiderman noted that the impact of the merger is likely to be felt statewide and that the review will therefore examine all aspects of the likely impact of the merger on consumers and businesses in all affected areas throughout New York.