Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N) CEO Dan Hesse attacked rival AT&T Inc's (T.N) planned acquisition of T-Mobile USA on Friday, saying a tie-up between the two would hurt innovation and set the country's wireless industry back. The chief executive of the No. 3 U.S. mobile operator lashed out against the $39 billion deal, now undergoing regulatory scrutiny, echoing the comments of other Sprint executives. "If AT&T is allowed to swallow T-Mobile, competition will be stifled, growth will be stifled and wireless innovation will be jeopardized," Hesse told reporters and industry executives in downtown San Francisco. AT&T's deal, announced in March, would concentrate 80 percent of U.S. wireless contract customers in just two companies -- AT&T/T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L).
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