monopoly

What Becerra will tell the CPUC about T-Mobile/Sprint merger

20 January 2020 by Steve Blum
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Tmobile billboard las vegas 6jan2020

California’s attorney general has more than one roadblock he can try to throw into T-Mobile’s path to a takeover of Sprint. The antitrust suit that Xavier Becerra and other state attorneys general filed in a New York federal court is one possibility. Closing arguments were made in that case last week – the judge hearing it didn’t ask any questions, so there are no clues about what he’s thinking. His decision is expected in the late February/early March time frame.… More

Penalties, but not prevention, for deceptive ISP billing practices

17 January 2020 by Steve Blum
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Consumer reports cable billing 3oct2019

Cost of Cable Fees in an Average
Monthly Cable Bill (2018). Source: Consumer Reports

It’s common practice for big, monopoly model broadband providers to promise low prices to new subscribers, then tack on arbitrary fees after they’re locked into long term contracts. AT&T was recently slammed for adding a property tax surcharge to some customers’ bills – no one has figured out yet why AT&T thinks it can do that in the first place, let alone why it more than doubled the charge – California property tax rate hikes are tightly restricted.… More

“Fleas of a thousand dogs” add gravitas to T-Mobile/Sprint merger as court challenge wraps up

15 January 2020 by Steve Blum
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Dog scratch

T-Mobile and Sprint square off today against a coalition of state attorneys general in a federal courtroom in New York, during closing arguments in a trial to determine whether their proposed merger violates antitrust laws. It’s one of the last hurdles for the deal, which has been under regulatory review since 2018.

Approval (or not) by the California Public Utilities Commission is also pending, as is a separate, more technical federal court review in Washington, D.C.… More

California’s review of T-Mobile/Sprint merger could turn into March madness

26 December 2019 by Steve Blum
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Tmobile arena

The CPUC’s review of the T-Mobile/Sprint merger is likely to run for two or three more months. The briefs filed last week were the last item on the schedule set in October, but that’s not necessarily the end of the road. Rebuttals might be allowed. Other kinds of requests that might result in a delay are possible, although T-Mobile seems to have put aside the sandbagging and stonewalling tactics that cost it at least a couple of months of extra time earlier this year.… More

DISH can’t and won’t be a competitor in California’s mobile marketplace, T-Mobile/Sprint merger opponents say

24 December 2019 by Steve Blum
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Dish kangaroos ces 5jan2015

T-Mobile wants to set up DISH as a new mobile network competitor, to ease anti-trust problems with its proposed merger with Sprint. The California Public Utilities Commission has to decide whether or not that’s a credible ambition. Initial briefs in what should be the closing round of arguments in the CPUC’s merger review were filed on Friday (links below). With DISH declining to say much on its own behalf, T-Mobile (and Sprint, but it’s the junior partner in this game) had to to make the case.… More

T-Mobile hypes California benefits of Sprint merger, defends DISH in CPUC filing

23 December 2019 by Steve Blum
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Tmobile sf civic plaza 5dec2019

Arguments for and against the proposed T-Mobile/Sprint merger were filed at the California Public Utilities Commission on Friday (links are below), which was also the last day of testimony in the federal anti-trust trial launched by California’s attorney general and others opposed to the deal. Closing court arguments are scheduled for 15 January 2020. The CPUC’s review will run at least into February, and possibly longer.

T-Mobile and Sprint (but it’s T-Mobile running the show) said, as they have all along, that the deal will produce nothing but wonderfulness for California, and adding DISH to the mix just makes it super awesome.… More

DISH might build out 5G in rural California, but don’t bet the ranch

9 December 2019 by Steve Blum
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Dish neponset

DISH won’t have to build its own 5G network everywhere in California, or even in every county, if the T-Mobile/Sprint merger is approved. Jeff Blum, DISH’s chief Washington, D.C. staff lobbyist, testified at a California Public Utilities Commission hearing on Friday. He ducked and dodged questions about DISH’s exact intentions for the California assets and people that T-Mobile would spin off, under an antitrust settlement reached with the federal justice department, saying plans were still being made, data was still being analysed, decisions were in the hands of other companies and, well, so on.… More

Approval of T-Mobile/Sprint deal could depend on DISH’s testimony at CPUC hearing

4 December 2019 by Steve Blum
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Tmobile san francisco 18may2019

Executives from T-Mobile, Sprint and, particularly, DISH will be cross examined tomorrow morning, as two days of hearings kick off at the California Public Utilities Commission in San Francisco. Witnesses from the CPUC’s public advocates office will also be on the stand. They’ll all have to explain written testimony they submitted about the wonderfulness, or lack thereof, of T-Mobile’s proposed takeover of Sprint, and asset and people spinoff to DISH.

It’s DISH’s intended role as a new, nationwide mobile telecoms competitor that’s likely to get the sharpest attention.… More

Contract for the Web addresses virtues and vices of government intervention

Contract for the web

The “Contract for the Web” campaign published its manifesto last week, titled, naturally enough, Contract for the Web. It’s a declaration of nine principles, including “make the internet affordable and accessible to everyone”, “respect and protect people’s privacy and personal data to build online trust” and “develop technologies that support the best in humanity and challenge the worst”, which are among the tasks the contract assigns to private companies. Individuals are urged to “be creators and collaborators on the web”, “build strong communities that respect civil discourse and human dignity”, and “fight for the web”.… More

DISH will be grilled on mobile plans for California at CPUC hearing

27 November 2019 by Steve Blum
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Dish kangaroos ces 5jan2015

DISH is the sole focus of a California Public Utilities Commission hearing next week. Administrative law judge Karl Bemesderfer decided yesterday that there’s enough evidence in hand for the CPUC to evaluate nearly all of the issues surrounding the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.

Nearly.

In his ruling, Bemesderfer mused…

What then do we need to hear testimony about? The significant change in the terms of the proposed merger that has occurred over the past months is the addition of DISH as a proposed fourth facilities-based wireless carrier, replacing Sprint.

… More