The number of opponents of carrier AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA is on the increase.

Seven states, viz. Washington, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts and California, have declared their opposition to the AT&T/T-Mobile deal by joining the U. S. Department of Justice's suit to block the proposed merger.

Opponents claim the proposed merger will hurt competition and lead to higher prices as concentration in markets is already very high.

Opposing the deal, Massachusetts’ Attorney General Martha Coakley said, "The proposed merger would create highly concentrated markets in Massachusetts and could lead to higher prices and poorer service.”

Telecommunications giant AT&T has proposed $39 billion to acquire Deutsche Telekom’s US arm T-Mobile. It the deal gets approval, AT&T will surpass Virgin to become the biggest telecommunications company in the US.

The Justice department along with the coalition of states wants the trial to begin in March next year, while AT&T and T-Mobile want the trial to start as early as January.