US: Dem senators ask AT&T and Time Warner to show merger’s benefit

Democratic senators signed a letter this week asking AT&T and Time Warner to illustrate how their proposed merger “would serve the public interest.”

Signatories  to the letter included Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker — called out AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson and Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes for what they see as an attempt to circumvent Federal Communications Commission review.

“To achieve greater transparency for regulators, lawmakers, and American consumers, we ask that you provide us with a public interest statement detailing how you plan to ensure that the transaction benefits consumers, promotes competition, remedies all potential harms, and further serves the public interest through the broader policy goals of the Communications Act,” the senators wrote.

An AT&T spokesperson wrote in a statement emailed to The Hill that the telecom company is willing to explain the merger’s benefits to lawmakers.

“We are always happy to answer any questions about the merger and, of course, will follow all processes required by law, including the extensive Hart-Scott-Rodino review process at the Department of Justice through which we will produce millions of documents, and extensive analyses. As we testified recently before Congress, the merger will create more competition for cable TV providers, giving consumers more options and accelerating next generation wireless broadband.”

Full Content: The Hill

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