The federal government’s rejection of LightSquared’s ambitious plan to launch a nationwide wireless network is a major setback for hedge fund manager Phil Falcone, who poured billions of dollars into the project. But it also deals a blow to the prospect of more competition in the broadband space, which could have meant more choices for consumers in a market dominated by a few major players.
Rebounding from a humbling, all but forced capitulation in the face of fierce government opposition to its proposed purchase of T-Mobile USA, AT&T won FCC approval to snap up $1.93 billion in Qualcomm spectrum just three days later.
So that’s it then: AT&T says it’s officially putting its protracted and recently all but dead attempt to snatch up T-Mobile USA out to pasture. Make that $39 billion dollars German-based parent company Deutsche Telekom won’t see, after the government worked to thwart the deal, suing to block it in late August, calling it anticompetitive and warning it could raise consumer prices.
If you thought that withdrawing its merger application from the Federal Communications Commission following accusations of providing “flawed information” would deter AT&T from pursuing its acquisition of T-Mobile, then you’ve clearly underestimated just how much the telecommunications giant cares about its customers. Well, possibly.
–Kevin Werbach, associate professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and former tech policy official with the Federal Communications Commission, commenting on the theory AT&T may attempt to salvage its FCC-scuppered merger with T-Mobile by selling off 40% of T-Mobile’s assets to wireless rivals. Asset Sale May Be Next for AT&T [New York Times]
–A senior FCC official, speaking to the New York Times on condition of anonymity. The FCC acted yesterday to thwart AT&T’s proposed $39 billion merger with T-Mobile. F.C.C. Seeks Review of AT&T Merger With T-Mobile [New York Times]
U.S. regulators are playing a game of chess with AT&T as the wireless network looks to close its $39 billion T-Mobile deal. The problem is that not everyone seems to be keen on the idea—including the FCC.
Here’s some bad news for opponents of the FCC Net Neutrality rules that will come into effect at the end of the month: Even if Congress passes a resolution of disapproval tomorrow that could overturn the rules, The White House has announced that President Obama will likely veto whatever is sent his way.
Rather than face regulation, wireless service providers have struck a deal with the Federal Communications Commission to warn customers about impending overage charges for voice, text and data use.
The folks who just officiated over net neutrality Internet regulations, the Federal Communications Commission, are being sued by—yep, the folks who fought to make net neutrality happen. Net neutrality’s advocates suing net neutrality’s enforcers?
The sad truth is that dialing 911 for emergencies has been in need of a major overhaul for quite some time, and from a technological standpoint isn’t only dated — it’s highly inefficient. If you place a call from a mobile device, for example, call centers are reportedly unable to do something as basic as [...]
