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Verizon Sells Off Wireline Operations, Blames Net Neutrality Plans

Posted by timothy on from the seems-a-reasonable-reason dept.

itwbennett (1594911) writes "Verizon Communications will sell its local wireline operations in California, Florida and Texas for $10.5 billion, citing uncertainty around federal Internet regulation as one reason for the move, although Verizon executives said the sale has been in the works for several years. It's no secret that local wireline phone service has been a shrinking industry, and Verizon and other carriers see mobile as their greatest growth opportunity. Verizon Chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam cited the Federal Communications Commission's upcoming net neutrality proposal as another potential threat to the growth of wired services. 'Washington should be very thoughtful how they go forward here,' he said. 'This uncertainty is not good for investment, and it's not good for jobs here in America.'"

3 of 214 comments (clear)

  1. F(ck them. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's just an excuse.

    1. Re:F(ck them. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      convenient one at that.. considering the deal was likely in the works long before there was even a hint of the threat of internet regulation.

      the real reason: verizon has huge debt and just committed to spending bazillions more on new wireless spectrum and they need some way to pay down some of that new debt.

  2. Translation... by thesupraman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Our huge profit margins are not maximized under the current plans, and it means we cannot use our government enforced cartels to force other companies to pay us again for services the end users are already paying for.

    Therefore we will 'protest' by selling off an area of the business we have been planning to sell of for normal commercial reasons for quite some time, but using our highly paid group of lobbyists and spin doctors, we will make you think this is bad for you, and therefore change the playing field to make us even more profitable, at your expense.

    The sad thing is some people will actually fall for this rubbish.

    And the sadder thing is it wont matter if you dont fall for it, because 'campaign contributions' mean they get whatever laws they desire anyway, given enough time and no one peaking behind the curtain.

    Welcome to the new world.