AT&T’s T-Mobile Deal May Hurt Competition, Senators Say

U.S. senators said they are concerned that AT&T Inc.’s proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA Inc. will harm competition by further consolidating the nation’s wireless phone-carrier market.

Democrat Herb Kohl of Wisconsin set the tone for a hearing in Washington of a Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee that he heads by saying the deal has “profound implications.” Prices may rise if the acquisition is approved by federal regulators, he said, putting the phone-carrier market “in danger of reverting to a duopoly in this century.”