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Seriously; the AT&T monopoly -> "now anyone can get a cheap cell phone" "example" is particularly historically deaf. Does Thiel not realize that the two largest
by kcorbitt 10y ago
Seriously; the AT&T monopoly -> "now anyone can get a cheap cell phone" "example" is particularly historically deaf. Does Thiel not realize that the two largest cell providers, making up 66% of the market (AT&T and Verizon), are direct descendants of the baby Bells that the government split up in antitrust action? And that the only reason there are still 4 significant players at all (leading to barely-acceptable service pricing) is because the US government intervened and blocked the purchase of T-Mobile by AT&T, and later Sprint? Much as I love the market, there's no way you can credit it for maintaining the bare minimum level of competition in the cell service industry we have today.
- homero 10y agoYeah I still don't get how cingular was let back in
- wamatt 10y ago>Does Thiel not realize Of course he does. While not stated directly, the implied message from Thiel seems to be: monopolies are fantastic, for founders and early investors. Given his own history, is it that surprising he is a proponent? Perhaps in this case, being contrarian might be less about intellectual enlightenment and more of a rationalization for self-serving decisions.
- sjtgraham 10y agoThiel has stated this directly many times.