The following is attributed to Harold Feld,
legal director for Public Knowledge:
“Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman
Herb Kohl’s statement this morning that he intends to hold a hearing on the
complicated Verizon deal with the leading cable companies is most welcome.
“We are
very pleased that he is doing so. Even without the agreements between
Verizon, Comcast, and the other cable operators to resell each other’s
services, this transaction would raise serious concerns about spectrum
aggregation and the future wireless competition. But when, in addition,
competitors become resellers of each others services, those charged with
protecting consumers and promoting competition have a duty to take a very
careful look.
“One
prominent Wall Street analyst declared this deal ‘the end of the world as we
know it.’ We need to determine whether the exchange of spectrum and the
accompanying cross-marketing deals represent a good end to the world or a bad
end to that world. If, as these companies claim, they cannot compete against
one another, Congress and the FCC need to consider whether we will need to
return to the world of regulated natural monopolies. While Public
Knowledge believes that competition is better, there are serious questions to
be answered whether true broadband competition can ever emerge if one provider
in a two-company broadband market starts selling the products of the other company.
“We hope and expect the Subcommittee
will look at the industry structure and effects of this deal on
consumers.”