Don't Expect US Approval of Huge Telecom Mergers 64
An article from Reuters explains how mergers involving T-Mobile and Time Warner Cable are likely to face a high level of scrutiny from the Obama Administration. Officials are wary of allowing any more power to consolidate among the huge corporations dominating the industry. A merger with one of the smaller companies would have a much easier time gaining approval.
"Regulators could, on the other hand, welcome transactions that bolster new entrants, such as one combining satellite TV service provider Dish Network Corp with T-Mobile, experts say. 'Dish/T-Mobile, from a regulatory standpoint, it would be a slam-dunk,' said Stifel analyst David Kaut. ... The FCC, in an annual report released in March, said competition in the wireless industry is 'highly concentrated.' Similarly, the Justice Department's assistant attorney general for antitrust, William Baer, has described the industry as 'not uniformly competitive.' 'The Department believes it is essential to maintain vigilance against any lessening of the intensity of competitive market forces,' Baer told the FCC in a filing in April related to an upcoming auction of low-frequency airwaves. The government's rejection of AT&T's $39 billion plan to buy T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom in 2011 remains the biggest shadow looming over big communications deals."
Re:What competitive market forces (Score:2, Informative)
i've had a cell phone since 2001. prices have stayed the same and the amount of service you get has gone up.
back in the 90's you used to pay almost $100 a month for just 60 minutes per month. and if you called someone on the same carrier which was almost impossible since there were like 20 cell phone carriers in the USA you still had to use your minutes
Re:What competitive market forces (Score:5, Informative)
Verizon Wireless has a 41% profit margin [foxbusiness.com]