AT&T, DirecTV Defends Merger Deal Before Congress

(RTTNews) - Telecom giant AT&T Inc. (T) on Tuesday tried to sell its proposed $48.5 billion merger with satellite television company DirecTV (DTV) before the US congress, stating that the combination would lower prices and create a strong competition.

The company pointed out that their merger won't largely affect the industry because both of them provide different services.

AT&T and DirecTV claimed that each company cannot provide an integrated and efficient bundle of high-speed broadband and high-quality video on its own. DirecTV's one-way video delivery service lacks broadband capabilities, while AT&T's video service is available in only a minority of customer locations where its U-verse video service is deployed.

According to AT&T, by uniting its wireline and wireless broadband infrastructure with DirecTV's nationwide video service under common ownership, the combined company would be able to bundle broadband and video as well as wireless services in ways that it could not without the transaction.

AT&T said its their only option if the Comcast and Time Warner Cable merger is completed.

The US lawmakers don have any official role in deciding whether the AT&T/DirecTV deal gets approved, but they still have a major influence. The deal requires approval of both the Justice Department and the FCC.

T closed Tuesday's trading at $35.29, down $0.10 or 0.28%, on the NYSE. DTV closed Tuesday's trading at $84.54, down $0.07 or 0.08%, on the Nasdaq.