US telecom carrier AT&T announced that it is dropping its bid to acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom.
AT&T had announced its proposal to purchase of T-Mobile USA for $39bn in March this year.
Despite backing out, AT&T still maintains its stance that the US wireless industry would have benefited from the deal.
But the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fiercely opposed the deal, saying it would not be in the public’s interest.
AT&T chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson said in a statement that they would continue to be aggressive in leading the mobile Internet revolution. "To meet the needs of our customers, we will continue to invest," said Stephenson.
Had this deal gone through, AT&T would have become the largest cellphone company in the US.
Meanwhile, AT&T has to pay T-Mobile $4bn charge to cover up for not going ahead with the deal.
