The FCC will have a busy Summer and perhaps the rest of the year too. Not only do they get to review the Comcast Time Warner Cable and ATT DirecTv deals, they may also get the proposed Sprint T-Mobile merger as well. Quick, hire more staff, the FCC will have their plate full. They may have seen their webaite explode after the John Oliver call to write them regarding net neutrality. And should a cable network consider announcing a possible acquisition target, the FCC might have to throw up their hands in defeat.
But back to the proposed plan for Sprint to acquire T-Mobile. Facing a communication and wireless industry industry dominated by two major players, Verizon and ATT, the number 3 and number 4 players were no match. Yes, they created choice for the consumer, but couldn't match for service and coverage. And while a merger reduces the number of competitors, it actually helps to make them a more formidable competitor as a much larger number 3 wireless provider. And frankly, they need all the help they can get.
Both ATT and Verizon offer more capabilities; ATT with a DirecTv and their U-verse product, have a firm cable and broadband base and Verizon with FIOS has the same. Neither Sprint nor T-Mobile bring that business to their mix; they benefit only by increased size. One might hope that a future partnership with Dish could then set them up nicely and make it an even stronger competitive option.
Some are concerned that the FCC won't like this Sprint T-Mobile pairing but I believe it is in the interest in the economy that it be approved, as should each of the above deals. The industry has always been an oligopoly; size continues to matter to make these business able to continue to compete.
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