Class warfare is not only in Government but in Business as well

In Peter Svensson article titled AT&T to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion that was written for the Associated Press.   The article reported that “the acquisition would give AT&T 129 million subscribers, vaulting it past Verizon Wireless' 102 million. The combined company would serve about 43 percent of U.S. cell phones”, but this was more than just a business deal.  Even though shareholders will be excited and happy about the news, those who came to embrace T-Mobile will soon find quite a bit to be discouraged about.  The majority of those who embraced T-Mobile were middle class and poor Americans.

The real reason behind the acquisition was nothing more than one company trying to out do the other and to reduce competition so that only a few could demand the telecommunication and internet stage.  Proof of this is evident in the quotes found in this very article, quotes like, “T-Mobile USA customers would get access to AT&T's phone line-up, including the iPhone”.  The most expensive phones leaves a lot of Americans who depend on communication affordability in order to survive will now have access to the very thing that they could not afford in the beginning and this is to help them how?  How about “T-Mobile has relatively cheap service plans compared with AT&T, particularly when comparing the kind that don't come with a two-year contract. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said one of the goals of the acquisition would be to move T-Mobile customers to smart phones, which have higher monthly fees. AT&T "will look hard" at keeping T-Mobile's no-contract plans, he said.”  “AT&T's general counsel, Wayne Watts, said the cell phone business is "an incredibly competitive market," with five or more carriers in most major cities. He pointed out that prices have declined in the past decade, even as the industry has consolidated. In the most recent mega-deal, Verizon Wireless bought No. 5 carrier Alltel for $5.9 billion in 2009.”  “The agreement doesn't leave room for other buyers to jump in with a higher bid, AT&T said.”

 Those struggling to make ends meet and must have communication to keep in contact with friends and family as well as provide any potential employer with a direct line of contact will soon see their choices even more limited than they are right now.  In the words of Gigi Sohn, president of a public interest group Public Knowledge as quoted in a statement “eliminating one of the four national phone carriers would be "unthinkable."  "We know the results of arrangements like this — higher prices, fewer choices, less innovation."  I couldn’t have said it better Ms. Sohn.