As Sprint readies an attack on the merger, AT&T has also ramped up its D.C. operations. Sprint gears up for fight with AT&T

Sprint is bulking up its Washington operations this month in anticipation of a tough, long political slog against AT&T’s purchase of T-Mobile.

So far, Sprint has signed contracts with veteran lobbyists at three of Washington’s top shops as it seeks to derail a $39 billion acquisition that would turn AT&T into the nation’s largest wireless provider.


Sprint has picked up help from Thorsen French Advocacy, Franklin Square Group and The Fritts Group, the company confirmed Sunday, and is in talks with veteran telecom lawyers at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. The firms all have deep connections to Capitol Hill and know the key federal leaders who will decide if and under what conditions AT&T can purchase T-Mobile.

“We are confident that when policymakers understand the facts about this transaction, they will call on the Department of Justice and the FCC to reject AT&T's merger application outright,” a Sprint spokesman said of the initial hires.

Sprint’s early pickups foreshadow the moneyed battle to come as the FCC and DOJ begin their formal federal reviews of the transaction. It’s widely believed the deal’s other foes — including public interest groups, industry associations and other wireless companies — are also weighing whether to form a broad coalition that would take on AT&T/T-Mobile union.

As opponents plot their strategy, AT&T has also ramped up its D.C. operations — hiring two new lobbying firms, specifically to push the deal before federal regulators and members of Congress. Those new pickups complement a well-oiled Washington political machine that spent more than $15 million to lobby in 2010 — compared with the mere $1.7 million Sprint shelled out over the same period, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Lobby disclosures for the opening months of 2011 are due later this week.

Still, Sprint’s new pickups offer the company some notable lobbying heft. Carl Thorsen of Thorsen French Advocacy, for example, is the former general counsel to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and in the early 2000s served as deputy assistant attorney general for DOJ’s Office of Legislative Affairs. Thorsen’s colleague, Alec French, previously worked as Democratic counsel on the House’s IP panel under then-ranking member Howard Berman of California.

Sprint is also taking on the aid of Franklin Square Group, including Democratic lobbyists Josh Ackil, Matt Tanielian and Brian Peters, and Republican lobbyist Kara Calvert. Ackil, in particular, is a veteran of the White House under President Bill Clinton, and a former aide to Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle and House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt.

And Sprint will also have the help of The Fritts Group — including leading lobbyist Eddie Fritts, telecom vet (and former AT&T and Sprint Nextel exec) Bruce Cox and former Sprint Nextel government affairs chief Melinda Lewis.

Sprint is in further talks with other lawyers, including Skadden’s Toni Cook Bush, a longtime Senate Commerce Committee vet.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 5:38 a.m. on April 18, 2011.