AT&T abandons plan to buy T-Mobile

American telecommunications giant AT&T has abandoned its plans to purchase T-Mobile, the company has announced in a statement.

In the statement, AT&T references a number of regulatory issues, including a move by the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice to block the transaction.

The move was reported on the company’s website.

“AT&T will continue to be aggressive in leading the mobile internet revolution,” Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and chief executive said in a statement.”

“To meet the needs of our customers, we will continue to invest,” Stephenson said. “However, adding capacity to meet these needs will require policymakers to do two things.”

First, he said, regulators should allow the free market to create new spectrum, while they should also create new legislation to “meet our nation’s longer-term spectrum needs”.