FCC moderator Julius Genachowski issued a draft order this morning that calls for a hearing to take the AT&T / T-Mobile merger before an authoritative Law Judge. Such a hearing, reminiscent of the one held for the attempted buyout of DirecTV by EchoStar in 2002, would be held once the tract of Justice's altercation is realized and would doubtless be another blockade for AT&T to push through. gospel to the FCC, the Chairman's order is awaiting final approve from the mandate at a later date, and won't be made public until that time. If the order gets the green light and a hearing is held, it'll be done so like a trial -- one involving cross examination, witnesses, rules of clue and a good 'ol fashioned two-sided duel.



It's no secret that the FCC has raised relative to over the prolong law merger, and pushing this order forward understandably reflects that. In fact, during a palaver call with media, the FCC assert fears that the deal would violate antitrust proper and isn't in the public interest, and the appoint cited records showing it would finally result in a loss of jobs, contrary to AT&T's claims. Naturally, this means there's one more hoop for the carrier to go through before it can hope to pick up T-Mobile, and it's a biggie; with the FCC and DoJ holding steadfastly against the acquisition, the GSM carrier's chances of success appear to be slimming significantly. Head past the break to see AT&T and Sprint's reactions to the news.