• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, March 28, 2011

In case no one knew where Sprint stood on AT&T's planned $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA, the company issued a formal statement opposed the merger. Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier, criticized the deal shortly after it was announced and Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, speaking at the CTIA Wireless 2011 conference last week said the acquisition would stifle innovation and concentrate too much power in the hands of the two biggest players--AT&T and Verizon Wireless. If the deal goes through, Sprint would obviously be the odd man out, contending with two huge rivals accounting for nearly 80% of the wireless market.

In its statement today, Vonya McCann, senior VP for government affairs at Sprint urged the U.S. government to block the deal:

"This transaction will harm consumers and harm competition at a time when this country can least afford it. As the first national carrier to roll out 4G services and handsets and the carrier that brought simple unlimited pricing to the marketplace, Sprint stands ready to compete in a truly dynamic marketplace. So on behalf of our customers, our industry and our country, Sprint will fight this attempt by AT&T to undo the progress of the past 25 years and create a new Ma Bell duopoly."

Sprint didn't indicate how exactly it will fight AT&T's acquisition bid but its announcement noted that besides the Department of Justice and the FCC, "will likely spark a host of hearings in the U.S. Congress." According to Consumer Reports' Electronics blog, members of Congress are already planning to review the deal through various committees including Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Herb Kohl and Rep. Anna Eshoo. Safe to say Sprint plans to have its say before Congress and other relevant agencies on the merger.