Barbarians At The Gate

IBD Editorials ^ | March 24, 2011 | Staff

[Kaslin]

Commerce: Lawmakers, bureaucrats and busybody groups have expressed reservations about AT&T's plan to buy T-Mobile. Why should a voluntary, peaceful agreement between private groups be any of their concern?

AT&T, the country's second-largest wireless carrier, has agreed to buy T-Mobile, the fourth-largest, for $39 billion. The combined company would become the biggest wireless carrier in the nation, serving more than 40% of the cellphone market.

But first, the deal must be OK'd by meddlesome legislators and useless regulators. The acquisition needs the approval of the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department, as well as the blessings of lawmakers who believe they have a right to manage private affairs.

One unnamed government source predicted "a steep climb." No exaggeration there. The Hill has reported that a "diverse group of industry and public-interest figures is lining up to campaign against the proposed deal, which would create the nation's largest wireless carrier."

Among the opponents' strategies is " a wall-to-wall lobbying campaign" that includes "aggressive ad buys, events on Capitol Hill and the formation of a new coalition to try and scuttle it."

Some in Congress won't need to be lobbied. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, has already told the FCC that she is "concerned that increased concentration" will lead "to fewer choices, higher prices and reduced service for wireless consumers."

Meanwhile, Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge, says the deal is "unthinkable" and worries that the sale would lead to "higher prices, fewer choices, less innovation."

[the invisib1e hand]

T what?

[runninglips]

I don’t know how much higher prices could go. It was just a few short years ago that a cell phone plan was around $20 a month for a basic plan. They moved pretty quickly to $50-$80 plans with high minute usage, but now bills in the $150-$200 a month for two people is normal. If it wasn’t for my wife, I would be using the Walmart pre-paid phones. It is a huge fight the way it is, and I absolutely HATE Verizon, buttttttttttttttt......gotta stay married.

[Fido969]

A T and who?

[PieterCasparzen]

Just combine them back all into AT&T at this point, they won’t have to market or advertise and we’ll knock 15% off our phone bills.

[lentulusgracchus]

It wasn't that long ago that a federal judge, using antimonopoly statutes that had been on the books for about 90 years at that point, broke up AT&T into the "Baby Bells", and AT&T Long Lines became just AT&T. I forget what they did with Western Electric Co., the equipment-making sub.

Now AT&T is poised to achieve their monopoly again, having rolled up all the Baby Bells, and take over cellular space as well. They're going to run the table.

What price the Sherman Anti-Trust Act now?

[catnipman]

“I forget what they did with Western Electric Co., the equipment-making sub.”

Western Electric became Lucent Technologies, which in turn eventually sold/spun off more assets into Advanced American Telephones, Agere Systems, Avaya, and Consumer Phone Services. Lucent itself merged with Alcatel, forming Alcatel-Lucent.

[catnipman]

“If it wasn’t for my wife, I would be using the Walmart pre-paid phones. It is a huge fight the way it is, and I absolutely HATE Verizon, buttttttttttttttt......gotta stay married.”

I’ve never used anything but prepaid. I think it’s insane to spend a thousand dollars a year for each person’s cell phone service.

I use T-mobile prepaid. Bought $30.00 Samsung picture phones from their web site, and once you put in $100.00 for a thousand minutes, you can roll the excess each year with as little as $10.00. Or if you need another 1000 minutes, then get another $100.00 card.

Oh, and I do get my $100.00 cards from Walmart; the discount pays for sales taxes, though lately the damn cards won’t activate on my T-mobile online account and I have to call the number on the card.

AT&T sucks. And everything they touch turns to crap. I’ve spent decades fleeing AT&T, but every time I get away, they buy the company I fled to, and then turn that company into AT&T crap too.

[reflecting]

AT&T is to business what Elmer Gantry was to religion. Amoral, unethical, end justifies all means. Scorn them, laugh at them, but never ever do business with them.

[cynwoody]

Western Electric became Lucent Technologies

Didn't they also spin off an unsuccessful 2010 Republican senatorial candidate in California?

[lentulusgracchus]

Oh, yes, thanks for reminding me -- Lucent, where Carly Fiorina was CEO for a number of years.

I'd forgotten about Alcatel.

[lentulusgracchus]

Hard to avoid them when they keep buying people.

I try to avoid both AT&T and MCI (which has similar corp. ethics), but MCI in particular has organized dozens of false-flag subs whose raison d'etre is to sponge up millions of fleeing MCI customers.

[catnipman]

“Oh, yes, thanks for reminding me — Lucent, where Carly Fiorina was CEO for a number of years. I’d forgotten about Alcatel. “

Yep, and then Carly went on to f**kup Hewlett Packard.