While it seems like it took far too long for Sprint to lawyer up and file against AT&T, it’s finally done. Better yet, Sprint actually did it right stating that no concessions will make the deal acceptable.
“The proposed transaction would produce no tangible public interest benefits and would impose serious anti-competitive harms that cannot be remedied through divestitures or conditions,” Sprint said on Tuesday, the deadline for initial responses to AT&T’s application to the FCC. (Yahoo)
Even though this was done by a competitor who would most certainly be harmed by the AT&T T Mobile combo, we’ve finally seen a complaint entered against AT&T that addresses the way it does business. AT&T makes concessions / promises with every merger deal. Time goes by. People forget. The promises are never kept. Does anyone remember $15 DSL without the land line charge? What about fiber to every home? Then there was a fair rate to rent rack space and last mile infrastructure to competitors are a fair price. All of these promises were made to speed acquisitions of other local Bell companies. Pols understand this methodology. It’s their stock and trade. Maybe that’s the reason why AT&T has gotten away with it for so long.
Kudos to Sprint for doing the right thing, even if it’s just acting in it’s own self interest. Other small providers are also complaining. Noticeably absent is Verizon. If the AT&T – T Mobile deal flies, Verizon is likely to roll over on Sprint creating what amounts to a duopoly. That’s great for AT&T and Verizon. If you like the broadband duopoly that’ s pushing us into the third world or the political one that’s ruining our country, you’ll love a wireless one.
about fing time, was wondering why they were letting mojo for clearance grow.