AT&T and T-Mobile USA may be facing further delays to their planned merger. The US Justice Department told a court that it wants to postpone its antitrust challenge to the acquisition, the Wall Street Journal reports. The trial was expected to start in February, but Justice Department lawyer Joseph Wayland said at a hearing on 9 December that there was no reason to hurry with the trial when AT&T didn't even have an application filed at the FCC. Wayland said the Justice Department would ask to stay the court proceedings, or possibly withdraw the case altogether until the companies refiled their FCC application. AT&T earlier withdrew the FCC application after the regulator indicated it would seek a full administrative hearing of the case. According the paper, Judge Ellen Huvelle voiced repeated frustration about the companies' FCC move and suggested she may not be willing to move with as much urgency. She raised concerns that if the companies were to reapply at the FCC, they might alter the final terms of the deal. In that case, she said, "everybody's time will be wasted." An AT&T lawyer, Mark Hansen, urged the judge to maintain the current trial schedule. "We're not playing some strategic game," he told the judge. Hansen said the companies remained committed to the deal. Judge Huvelle asked the Justice Department to file its motion by 13 December, and she set another court hearing for 15 December.
