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Verizon Chief Defends AT&T-T-Mobile Merger
The proposed merger of AT&T with T-Mobile doesn't impress everyone as a good idea; in particular, Sprint has filed suit to stop the merger, and while hardly a disinterested party, they're not alone in claiming that the resulting megacompany would harm customers. Verizon is taking a different tack; tekgoblin passes along this excerpt: "Verizon Communications chief executive Lowell McAdam has announced that he is supporting the AT&T T-Mobile merger. He warned that the Government has no choice but to let the deal go though unless they want to fix the current spectrum problems. He went on to say 'We need to be very thoughtful on what the impacts would be to the overall industry if this is a way to regulate the industry without actually passing regulation.' The current telcos need more wireless spectrum to continue expanding and operating efficiently so they have resorted to acquiring other companies."
We're ready for less competition! Bring it on!
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Looks like he hasn't been keeping up with the latest reports; indicating that AT&T is secretly trying to SELL spectrum to smaller operators in order to get support for the merger. Sounds like they have plenty already. (this was discussed on /.)
"Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"
It would give Verizon the go-ahead to gobble up Sprint in, say, a hostile takeover, leaving only AT&T and Verizon on the playing field. A 2-company oligopoly can price gouge more easily than a 4-company oligopoly.
I am officially gone from
Looks like Verizon is posturing for its plan to merge with Sprint. No no mergers are the only way we can keep up with customer demand. I mean you can't expect us to spend profits on upgrading our network. That would be silly.
It is good for Verizon, because it gets rid of another competitor. They can raise rates more without another decent competitor to keep them in check.
They also figure, probably rightly so, that a lot of TMobile customers will leave when it happens, giving Verison more.
Then ATT will continue doing the only thing they know how to do, and that is to keep getting worse than they already are, which will drive even more customers away with fewer competitors for them to go to.
More and more customers for Verizon all around, with higher and higher rates.
Win win.
Never trust industries to regulate themselves when it comes to anything.
FTFY
Hey Lowell McAdam, You are saying that in order to expand you and AT&T needs to buy other companies to get more spectrum. So when they purchase T-Mobile and you purchase Sprint(for more spectrum) of course. What happens to the marketplace when only two players are left?. What happens to customers ability to chose? What happens to the choices of phones? Remember when iPhone was the only decent smartphone AT&T offered? What happens to unlimited wireless? Since AT&T decided to drop unlimited and you decided to follow suit leaving Sprint as the only true unlimited carrier. I don't buy your spectrum argument. I think you are licking your chops at the ability to drive up prices due to lack of consumer choice and nickel and dime us to death with overage charges. We do not want a duopoly on communications in America.
How about Google buying it? Or maybe not even Google, but a private equity syndicate led by Brin, et al and other like-minded technology people, with someone brought it to run it as a "not evil" company.
Other less palatable concepts are Comcast buying it; I get a full court press from Comcast sales droids for phone and they always seem slightly annoyed that I'm all cellular, this would allow them into all voice markets. I'm not saying this is a "good" idea but it would be something of a business fit.
These are all chess moves by monopolies that can't deal with competition. The game is so small that they're scared to death at what might happen.
First, Sprint has NO MONEY and won't be able to raise enough debt to acquire T-Mobile, even if Deutsche Telekom GAVE IT TO THEM. Sprint has no GSM experience, and they'r desperately wound up in trying to deliver 4G/LTE.
Second, Verizon wants this to happen so they can justify their acquisition of SPRINT, who is the only other CDMA carrier of note in the world.
This is all about empires, and Verizon's protecting their ability to have one.
---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
AT&T has plenty of spectrum. What they don't have is connective infrastructure. I constantly have AT&T signal but data just won't go through because the towers' routers are overloaded. AT&T needs to take the billions it is trying to spend buying T-Mobile to add bandwidth.
"We can categorically state we have not released man-eating badgers into the area." - UK military spokesman, July 2007
The funny thing is that T-Mobile used to be affiliated with Sprint.
Global One Communications was a conglomerate of Sprint, Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom, and T-Mobile and Orange trace their roots there.
T-Mobile USA, on the other hand, is basically the old PN Voicestream network, which was bought up by T-Mobile, a subsidiary of DT, and has little to do with T-Mobile, except the current ownership.
AT&T buying T-Mobile USA is really AT&T buying the remains of Pacific Northwest that it hasn't already sucked up and reincorporated like a Terminator robot.
Confused yet? Not after the next episode of Telesoap!