At a recent conference, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson suggested that AT&T would have to nix a few markets in order to gain approval for the new merger. “We anticipate there will be some markets we will have to divest,” said Stephenson although the markets in question have not been mentioned. It was already assumed that AT&T would have to make a few concessions in order to obtain T-Mobile. According to AT&T the acquisition is needed in order to roll out LTE as they plan to use T-Mobile’s 1700MHz spectrum along with their own 700MHz spectrum to accomplish this. Verizon CEO Dan Mead has expressed interest in grabbing up any weight AT&T happens to shed during the deal.
Stephenson also stated, in regards to Sprint’s comments, “This industry is anything but a duopoly,” and “The industry is intensely competitive now, and will be intensely competitive after the deal.” Of course Sprint still disagrees and it still trying to get the deal thrown out.
The merger will continue to cause controversy on the corporate and residential front and, depending the decision made regarding the matter, could continue to reek havoc for a while. All the good versus bad has been covered, although in my opinion the bad seems like more opinionated statements than actual facts. Stay tuned for another falling out as it’s inevitable.
Source: Phone Scoop
