AT&T Yanks Merger Request

Don’t get excited about a merger between AT&T and T-Mobile just yet. The two cellular phone companies indicated Thursday that the deal hit a major stumbling block—revealing that their application for a union had been withdrawn from the Federal Communications Commission. Still, heads of AT&T and T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, insisted that the merger would go on, despite FCC chairman Julius Genachowski’s announcement earlier this week that the commission did not approve of the collaboration. The FCC and Justice Department charge that joining the two companies together would eliminate competition in the industry and cut jobs. AT&T charged itself $4 billion, recognizing it may have to pay up to Deutsche Telekom if the deal indeed goes sour.