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AT&T and T-Mobile on Monday asked a federal judge to postpone an antitrust lawsuit as the companies were assessing “whether and how” to proceed with their $39 billion mega-merger. The announcement signals that the deal as originally conceived is all but dead. The two companies could still seek ways to retool the terms to address the concerns of regulators.

AT&T Inc is considering an offer to divest a significantly larger portion of assets than it had initially expected, in order to salvage its $39 billion deal to buy T-Mobile USA, Bloomberg reported citing a person familiar with the plan.

AT&T said it would take a $4 billion charge in case its takeover of T-Mobile USA fails, a tacit recognition of the dwindling chances that the deal will get through U.S. regulators who say it would destroy jobs and curb competition.

AT&T said it would take a $4 billion charge in the final quarter, the value of a breakup fee and spectrum assets possibly owed Deutsche Telekom, an acknowledgment that the company's proposed takeover of T-Mobile faces an increasingly uphill battle.

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission will request an administrative hearing on the proposed $39 billion acquisition... The decision by the chairman, Julius Genachowski, puts a second large roadblock in front of AT&T, the nation’s second-largest wireless phone company, in its effort to buy T-Mobile, the No. 4 carrier. In August, the Justice Department filed a federal antitrust lawsuit to block the merger, saying it would stifle competition.

AT&T pushed back the expected closing dates for its purchases of T-Mobile USA and a block of Qualcomm spectrum by as much as three months as it battles regulatory scrutiny.

T-Mobile’s chief marketing officer Cole Brodman recently published a letter on the company’s official blog addressing customers and discussing the carrier’s view on the iPhone. At first glance, it reads like a simple breakdown as to why T-Mobile doesn’t offer the iPhone. Brodman’s explanation of T-Mobile’s current iPhone situation, however, also reads a bit like a plea to Apple.

Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris and six other state attorneys general join the Justice Department's antitrust suit, say the deal would result in less competition in the wireless market.

The Justice Department's move to block AT&T Inc. from buying
T-Mobile USA is motivated by the desire to keep a low-priced
competitor in the game. But that's a game T-Mobile is losing.

Sen. Al Franken (D., Minn.), is urging regulators to reject the pending AT&T’s merger, joining the Senate’s antitrust chair and other lawmakers in what may be a growing legislative backlash against the deal.