DOJ’s Attempt to Block the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Places the Horizontal Merger Guidelines on Trial

In the U.S. antitrust merger enforcement community, many believed that the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) would sue to enjoin any attempt to further consolidate among the Big Four, especially any combination that would involve either of the biggest two networks, Verizon and AT&T, eliminating one of their smaller competitors. It therefore was not unforeseen when DOJ announced, on August 31, 2011, that it would indeed seek an injunction to prevent consu