(Washington, D.C.) – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) President Tom Schatz today issued the following statement in response to the pending acquisition of AT&T by SBC Communications:
SBC’s purchase of AT&T could be the tonic that restores sanity to the telecommunications industry by

finally persuading regulators to stop trying to micromanage the future.  This industry is retooling itself

to efficiently deliver innovative new services in ways that government cannot anticipate and should not try to direct.  New technologies are emerging every day, and the competition to retain or obtain market share is fierce.  The government has proven many times that it is technologically challenged when it comes to making decisions on the direction of the marketplace.

In recent years, government officials have wasted thousands of hours trying to shape the market, even as VoIP, fiber, wireless, broadband Internet, mobile wireless, and cable have opened up new avenues to competition.  These achievements have occurred despite outdated regulations and burdensome taxes on the telecommunications industry.  As a result, prices are lower and services continue to expand.  We hope that regulators will finally get out of the way and give the AT&T/SBC merger their blessing without wasting more of taxpayers’ money on needless hours of regulatory hairsplitting.

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.