AT&T Inc. is hiking prices on its pay TV services for the second time since January, even after telling a judge during the U.S. antitrust trial last year that prices would go down if it was allowed to buy Time Warner Inc.

Next month, most of the 1.6 million subscribers of DirecTV Now, a live TV streaming service, will be charged $10 a month more as AT&T changes its programming packages. That follows a price increase in January for its traditional satellite service.

The higher bills could fuel a growing debate over whether Washington’s antitrust watchdogs are too permissive in allowing corporate consolidation. While companies seeking approval for mergers argue their deals won’t hurt consumers, research shows their claims often don’t pan out.

“This is yet another example of how merging companies make promises that agencies will not and cannot enforce,” said Gigi Sohn, a former official at the Federal Communications Commission and now a fellow at Georgetown University’s law school.

More at Bloomberg.