According to Marc Schildkraut, an antitrust lawyer at Howery LLP, Justice Department lawyers in the previous administration used a test that weighed whether the anticompetitiveeffects of behavior disproportionately outweighed any good that such behavior might bring consumers.
And, the department said that any potential entry from a new mobile wireless telecommunications services provider would be unable to offset the transaction's anticompetitiveeffects because it would be difficult, time-consuming and expensive, requiring spectrum licenses and the construction of a network.
The expert also compared prices in Philadelphia to other markets to show they were excessive, but his calculations included the effects of the three other allegedly anticompetitive practices the court refused to consider.