Sprint blasts AT&T's bid to buy T-Mobile USA

Sprint Nextel urged regulators to block AT&T Inc's USD 39 billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA.

Sprint, the No 3 US mobile carrier, said in a statement on Monday that the transaction would harm consumers and competition.

"Sprint will fight this attempt by AT&T to undo the progress of the past 25 years and create a new Ma Bell duopoly," said Vonya McCann, Sprint's senior vice president of government affairs.

Sprint already faces tough competition from its two bigger rivals, AT&T and Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc. The combination of AT&T and T-Mobile USA, the No 4 US operator, would leapfrog Verizon Wireless as market leader.

The US Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department are expected to take at least a year to review the proposed merger.