AT&T takes issue with antitrust criticism

Telecommunications giant AT&T struck back on Wednesday at Sen Herb Kohl (D-WI), chair of the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, saying the lawmaker's concerns about a lack of competition in the wireless industry were unfounded. Chairman Kohl wrote to the Justice Department's top antitrust regulator Christine Varney and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on Monday to reiterate concerns over texting prices, large carriers failing to cooperate with smaller carriers to resolve roaming disputes, disputes over spectrum and deals that give one or another carrier exclusive access to popular phones like the iPhone. AT&T argued that cell service had become progressively cheaper, with revenue per minute falling 89 percent since 1994. The company also argues that 1) texting prices have fallen because of package deals, 2) exclusive handset arrangements allowed a carrier and a manufacturer to split the high cost of marketing "an inventive but unproven new device," and 3) early termination fees are a way for the company to recoup money spent discounting handsets.