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> Telecom infrastructure is entirely too important to a region's sovereignty to allow any foreign company to own and operate. Using the same line of reasoning,
by whyenot 13y ago
> Telecom infrastructure is entirely too important to a region's sovereignty to allow any foreign company to own and operate.
Using the same line of reasoning, should T-Mobile (Deutsche Telekom) be excluded from the United States? That would be a shame, they have done a lot to shake up the U.S. wireless market. A new entrant in Europe might have a similar effect there.
- pmb 13y agoT-mobile is actually officially independent of Deutsche Telekom because the FCC has the same rule.
- whyenot 13y agoI suppose that depends on your definition of "independent." They are a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom. When T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS merged, the agreement was signed in Bonn, Germany, not Bellevue, Washington.
- pmb 13y agoIt really depends on the FCC's definition, but yeah, I concede the point that they are only just independent enough to make the FCC happy.
- Maakuth 13y agoI wonder if AT&T would be ready for the telecom competition landscape in Europe. At least in Northern Europe, the competition is very fierce and the prices are quite low thanks to that. Looking at US mobile prices, I don't think the competition there is working very well.
- whyenot 13y agoYes, I think they would have a tough time. Then again, maybe they will bring something new to the table.
- bediger4000 13y agoI don't think the competition there is working very well. There isn't meaningful competition anywhere in the USA. Regulatory capture (the famed "revolving door" between the US Federal Government and large corporations) means that major carriers have carved up the USA into territories in which they have a local monopoly. There are other factors, but that's the big one.
- 001sky 13y agoVerizon in particular, but AT&T is from the same lineage (ex Ma Bell). The only other players in this league are the Cable companies and Hollywood. The only reason these industries have not been disrupted...
- malandrew 13y agoPossibly yes. I would imagine that doing so would basically subject AT&T to the Sherman anti-trust act, resulting in having it broken up again like in the 80s.