AT&T, T-Mobile deal has support

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Support for AT&T's proposed $39 billion merger with T-Mobile is streaming in from all quarters of the state.

Judging by letters penned to Washington asking the feds to bless the controversial merger, the AT&T/T-Mobile union would be a plus for North Carolina's labor unions, business lobby, sweet potatoes, African-Americans and other assorted interests.

"For the sake of the whole country I urge you to approve it," implored Peter Reichard, managing director of Tryon Capital in Chapel Hill, in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission.

North Carolina regulators have no say in the merger, so residents here won't have the opportunity to weigh in at the state level. But hundreds of letters are coming in for and against the corporate union that would create the nation's largest wireless carrier. The deadline for public comments is June 20.

The enthusiasm for the merger is hardly spontaneous; AT&T is encouraging businesses and organizations to back the merger. The telecommunications company has reached out by phone, by mail and in person, shaking all trees, sharing talking points and directing its friends old and new to the FCC.

One of AT&T's big coups was Gov. Bev Perdue, who wrote to the FCC last month to say the merger "can benefit the people of my state."

The company's main talking point: It will spend $8 billion to upgrade broadband Internet access in underserved areas.

The extent of the enthusiasm AT&T is generating from the most unlikely sources has not failed to raise questions. Politico, the Washington tip sheet, reported that many of AT&T's fans are funded by the corporation's foundation.

The NAACP, for example, receives annual donations from AT&T, getting $1 million in 2009, the most recent year for which information is available.

Rev. William Barber, who heads the NAACP's North Carolina chapter, said AT&T consistently ranks among the top communications companies on the NAACP's annual report card, which looks at such factors as minority hiring, minority contracting and workers rights.

Barber said the report card ranking is not related to AT&T's close relationship with the NAACP, which includes corporate sponsorships and regular attendance at NAACP events.

When AT&T reps contacted the NAACP's state chapter about writing to the FCC, theorganization was happy to comply, Barber said. The NAACP's national office had already endorsed the merger, and the local branch followed suit, he said.

AT&T approached the N.C. Sweet Potato Commission by contacting the group's lobbyist at the General Assembly, said Sue Johnson-Langdon, the spud body's executive director.

Reichard, of Tryon Capital, had not thought about the implications of the merger until he received a phone call in May and a subsequent mailer highlighting the merger's benefits.

AT&T prevailed upon Reichard to contact the FCC, even though the banker gets his cell phone service from AT&T's mortal enemy, Verizon Wireless, and doesn't plan to switch providers.

Other N.C. fans of the merger include the A.F.L.-C.I.O, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Communications Workers of America, Regal Rubber Co., Golden Corral and the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.

The unions point out that AT&T has the country's largest unionized workforce, which would expand by about 20,000 members if T-Mobile merger goes through and doesn't result in layoffs.

As in other states, the merger has its doubters here, who say it will reduce competition, limit customers choice and result in higher prices. Critics include competitor Sprint Nextel and Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine.

A number of N.C. citizens wrote to FCC in opposition to the merger, but many did not provide addresses and a few did not sign their letters, some of which run for several pages.

Chad Gammon managed to keep his disapproval to two paragraphs.

"I could take the time to elaborate and give specifics," he wrote, "but I am sure others are making charts and spreadsheets that spell it all out so let's just say I am VERY against it for about 50 different reasons."