Subscribe[flv width=”360″ height=”290″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Bloomberg Arbogast Sees ATT Sweet-Talking for T-Mobile Approval 3-21-11.mp4[/flv]
Rebecca Arbogast, analyst with Stifel, Nicolaus and Co., discusses AT&T Inc.’s $39 billion purchase of Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile USA unit. As the acquisition may take a year to gain regulators’ approval, AT&T will need to “sweet-talk” regulators, consumers, and the Obama Administration with promises of rural coverage and broadband enhancements. That means astroturf groups that claim to represent consumers but are funded by telecom companies will be a growth industry in 2011. The question Bloomberg’s Betty Liu does not ask is whether competitive pressures against AT&T would force them to provide better service anyway, without wiping one of four national players off America’s wireless map. (4 minutes)
I love how AT&T has 39 billion to buy T-Mobile but “can’t afford” not to cap bandwidth
Well, exactly. That really makes me mad. They simply can’t afford to build out their networks, but they can totally spend 39 billion to buy another company. Pardon my french, but that’s bull****. They’re just lazy and want to eliminate competition at the same time.