AT&T (NYSE: T) finally won a round with the U.S. government, but only because T-Mobile wasn’t involved. The carrier got the go-ahead to purchase wireless spectrum from Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) for $1.9 billion Friday, something it asked for when dropping its bid to purchase T-Mobile earlier this week.

One of the most audacious and controversial mergers in mobile history is dead, and give AT&T (NYSE: T) at least a little credit for understanding when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em. In the face of two defiant government agencies AT&T had little chance but to call off…

AT&T’s attempt to remake the U.S. wireless landscape with its huge $39 billion deal for T-Mobile may have finally reached the breaking point. AT&T (NYSE: T) and Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) have asked the federal judge overseeing the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice to postpone court hearings…

AT&T (NYSE: T) issued a strongly worded point-by-point critique of the report released earlier this week by the Federal Communications Commission slamming its proposed merger with T-Mobile. Few will likely be moved by its arguments but it’s clear that AT&T is hoping to punch its way off the ropes.

Could AT&T (NYSE: T) want T-Mobile’s spectrum and network assets so badly as to contemplate arranging a joint venture between it and T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom? (NYSE: DT) A report Wednesday suggests AT&T is at least talking about that option, which might be a quite complicated way to save face…

Call this one a not-so-sweet release for AT&T (NYSE: T). The Federal Communications Commission has said has let AT&T drop its FCC application for regulatory approval to buy T-Mobile for $39 billion. But it didn’t stop the FCC from also publishing a detailed staff analysis explaining why it thought the…

Nobody likes uncertainty heading into two of the most important months of the mobile calendar: the December holiday shopping season and the January presentation of new ideas and new products at CES in Las Vegas. Two of the biggest wireless carriers in the U.S.—AT&T (NYSE: T) and T-Mobile—are staring at…

Today, on a public holiday in the U.S., AT&T (NYSE: T) and Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) issued a statement saying they would be withdrawing their merger application from the FCC. Additionally, AT&T will post a charge of $4 billion due to the risk of the deal collapsing. The news comes…

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission does not like what it sees in the proposed mega-merger between AT&T (NYSE: T) and T-Mobile. It has recommended that the merger undergo further scrutiny before an administrative law judge, saying that AT&T’s reasons for the merger don’t always add up.

Some of the stories people are talking about this morning:»  Emily Gould And The Rise Of The Indie E-Bookseller (paidContent) »  Mobile Ad Company 4INFO Raises $14 Million, Spins Out Its AdHaven Platform (paidContent) »  The Awkward, Unanswered Questions That Led to Coldplay’s Spotify Embargo (paidContent) »  Laid off Gannett…

Bloomberg TV is making a renewed push to fight its way out of the nosebleed section of Comcast’s channel line-up. Tired of being stuck at 103 on the dial in New York and Washington, Bloomberg wants the FCC to make Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) include it in a “news neighborhood” of…

A sign of Twitter’s growing power, and increasing need to interface with government to get its message across: the company has hired a new head of public policy, Colin Crowell.

AT&T (NYSE: T) has defended its $39 billion proposed acquisition of T-Mobile by claiming that it needs T-Mobile’s wireless spectrum in order to build a truly national 4G wireless network. The Federal Communications Commission has decided that if that’s the case, that it better review AT&T’s proposed acquisition of wireless…

Struggling mobile provider *Sprint* Nextel announced a 15-year partnership with LightSquared on Thursday, the wireless venture backed by billionaire Phil Falcone, to help build out its network and share equipment costs. Sprint (NYSE: S) hopes the deal will boost its flagging fortunes as it tries to compete with larger rivals…

Last month, Bloomberg made it known that it was quite unhappy with where Bloomberg TV was being placed in Comcast’s TV lineup. Bloomberg, which was generally placed in the low-100s of Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) lineups, wanted to move down the dial to what it considered some better digital real estate.…

A draft GOP bill to auction off TV broadcast spectrum could become embroiled in the ongoing feud between President Obama and congressional Republicans, according to a prominent telecom analyst. The bill, which would authorize the FCC to auction off valuable radio frequencies to private bidders, has drawn criticism because it…

Turns out content was king during the first half of 2011, as CBS (NYSE: CBS), Comcast/NBCU (NSDQ: CMCSA), and News Corp (NSDQ: NWS) posted strong stock gains. Tech giants Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) struggled, meanwhile, as social media hot-shots Facebook and Twitter saw their valuations skyrocket and…

Public interest groups and at least one FCC commissioner cheered on Thursday after a federal appeals court threw out part of the agency’s media cross-ownership rules that relaxed restrictions on owning a newspaper and TV station in the same market. The ruling was a blow to some of the nation’s…

If you had any doubt that money talks in politics, consider today’s development in the lobbying effort for AT&T’s proposed $39 billion buyout of T-Mobile. Seventy-two Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to the FCC and Justice Department praising the deal. Turns out, 66 of the more than 70 signatories received…