It must be nice to be a CEO and lets not forget the legal team who made a 4 BILLION DOLLAR MISTAKE. I wonder if I can get a job with them and make a 4 billion dollar mistake and say oh well...... Bet you he stays and the legal team is still used.
For ATT it was a risk worth taking. Plus, $1.3Bil is chump change for them. Annual net income hovers around $15-$20Billion.
Considering if they had been successful, they would have been able to knock out a major price competitor, it was a good idea (for them, not the rest of us).
That said, their timing was horrible/unlucky. They should have done it 4 years ago when Bush was in office, or waited until next spring (during the height of the election season) when politicians are the least likely to take any risks or stances on such issues.