5 ms·
I guess I don't understand how anti-trust laws work. Didn't they break up "Ma Bell" a few years ago specifically to prevent monopolies? And since then, AT&T bou
by zavulon 16y ago
I guess I don't understand how anti-trust laws work. Didn't they break up "Ma Bell" a few years ago specifically to prevent monopolies? And since then, AT&T bought Cingular, now T-Mobile, and they pretty much have a monopoly on GSM, if not on all mobile phones.
- nickpinkston 16y agoI think it works out to the net lobbyist money between a company those on the other side. At least that's what it functions like...
- lutorm 16y agoThose laws were more enthusiastically enforced then...
- natnat 16y agoAnti-trust laws are enforced when and only when the political pressure from people who feel like they're being abused by a monopoly exceeds the political pressure from that monopoly's lobbyists.
- jsdalton 16y agoActually, Cingular Wireless acquired AT&T in 2004, and then opted to convert the Cingular brand to AT&T in 2005. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless
- cosmicray 16y ago> And since then, AT&T bought Cingular, now T-Mobile AT&T didn't buy Cingular per se. In late 2006 AT&T and Bellsouth each owned 50% of Cingular. AT&T got their 50% ownership via SBC. AT&T became sole owner of Cingular by acquiring Bellsouth. That deal closed about Dec 30, 2006 (after many delays getting approval from the FCC). The original iPhone was announced by Apple on January 9, 2007.