For example, in 2006, AT&T and BellSouth proposed a merger. At the time, there were very few mobile phone

service providers. Both the Justice Department and the FCC blocked the proposal.

The two companies argued that the merger would benefit consumers, who would be able to purchase better

telecommunications services at a cheaper price because the newly created firm would take advantage of

economies of scale and eliminate duplicate investments. However, a number of activist groups like the

Consumer Federation of America and Public Knowledge expressed fears that the merger would reduce

competition and lead to higher prices for consumers for decades to come. In December 2006, the federal

government allowed the merger to proceed. By 2009, the new post-merger AT&T was the eighth largest

company by revenues in the United States, and by that measure the largest telecommunications company in
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