AT&T responds to DOJ, tells FCC that the merger with T-Mobile will bring 5,000 jobs back to U.S.

As we reported yesterday, the Department of Justice is asking for an injunction to block the proposed purchase of T-Mobile by AT&T. But the New York based carrier won't take the decision without putting up a fight. In a statement released after the DOJ made its decision public, AT&T says it will ask for an expedited hearing to review the positives of the combination of the two mobile operators. AT&T says the burden of proof is on the government to prove that the deal would cause anti-competitive affects.

According to AT&T, completion of the deal will allow it to "Help solve our nation’s spectrum exhaust situation and improve wireless service for millions." Letting the deal close will bring LTE coverage from AT&T to an additional 55 million Americans, covering 97% of the population, according to the carrier. The deal will also result in billions of additional investment and also result in tens of thousands of jobs, and is in the best interest of the operator's customers and the U.S. according to AT&T.

Sprint had a different response to the news, of course. The nation's third largest carrier has been battling against the deal and praised the DOJ for putting consumers' interest first, applauding the DOJ for making the decision that it says will save American jobs, contrary to what AT&T has been saying.

Hours before the DOJ announcement, AT&T offered something of a bribe to the FCC. The carrier said that if the $39 billion deal is approved by the FCC, it would repatriate 5,000 outsourced call center jobs and promised not to layoff any domestic call center employees employed at the time of the merger. In addition, AT&T said it was pour $8 billion into its infrastructure, a move that the Economic Policy Institute suggests could add 96,000 more jobs in the States. While the DOJ has obviously weighed in with its opinion on the deal, the FCC still has yet to make a ruling on the transaction.

source: BGR, TmoNews