AT&T to Verizon : “We’ll Keep the World Safe for Big Telecom Mergers, You Go Kill That Pesky FCC Open Internet Rule”
Ahh, the co-ordinated effects possible between two giant
duopolists.
Now that the trial schedule has been set for the new 21st
century U.S. v. AT&T antitrust case, AT&T litigators will be vigorously
defending in court the iconic behmoth’s right to acquire and thereby eliminate
one of its three national mobile telecom competitors, T-Mobile. If successful, the acquisition will go
a long way toward clearing a path for a future Verizon takeover of a smaller
competitor or competitors.
Verizon knows that, and so even though AT&T would be leapfrogging it
in size and market share with this transaction, they’re cool with it. Maybe
even supportive. The trial
date is set for February 13th.
Meanwhile, back at the FCC, AT&T still has to work hard
to win parallel approval for its merger, due to the transfers of wireless
licenses involved. An agency
self-imposed 180-day shot clock is running again, but nobody really thinks the
FCC will issue a decision ahead of the antitrust court determination.
What
the FCC has just accomplished this month is publication in the Federal Register
of its first rule to maintain public access to the open Internet. That’s where Verizon comes
in. Its first court challenge to
the open Internet rule failed because it was filed prematurely, but a brand new
opportunity presents itself here.
Verizon is expected to challenge the FCC again early next month, and
argue that the DC Circuit should have exclusive jurisdiction, and that the FCC
has no authority to promulgate rules governing broadband Internet access. AT&T is totally cool with all
of this as well.
Further, now that the FCC rule has been published, the clock
is also ticking in the Senate on a Resolution
of Disapproval under the Congressional Review Act. (CRA). A resolution to repeal the FCC
open Internet rule already
passed the House earlier this year, but now it will be ripe for
consideration by the full Senate (under CRA waiver of all regular procedures
involving Committee action and cloture votes etc…) anytime after October 13th. Word is AT&T will not be
lobbying their Senate friends to whom they’ve been trying to sell the T-Mo
merger, but no matter, Verizon again has it covered.
Throughout all of this, it’s mostly the same smaller
carriers, online search engines and e-commerce companies, along with the same
public interest groups that comprise the loyal opposition. Legal, regulatory and public
relations resources on this side do not begin to match those of either AT&T
or Verizon alone, much less combined.
Hopefully the law will protect the public interest anyway.
