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[cablewithaview]

Comcast, Verizon Execs Bill Deal as Value-added for Consumers; Opponents Say It Will Lead to Wireless Duopoly

John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 3/21/2012 10:38:34 PM

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Cable operators' deal to sell advanced wireless spectrum to Verizon got a thorough going-over in a Senate Antitrust Subcommittee hearing Wednesday. Comcast and Verizon executives billed it as value-added for consumers, while deal opponents painted pictures of cable monopolies and wireless duopolies calling a "truce" on competition.
The hearing was tellingly titled: "Verizon/Cable Deals: Harmless Collaboration or a Threat to Competition and Consumers?" Following a hearing on the proposed AT&T-T-Mobile merger, which was also billed as a spectrum deal, Antitrust Subcommittee chair Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), who presided over Wednesday's hearing, asked Justice and the Federal Communications Commission to block the deal, which the agency ultimately did.
At Wednesday's hearing, Kohl was clearly concerned about the impact of the Verizon/SpectrumCo/Cox deal. He suggested blocking the AT&T deal had been a victory for competition, and pondered whether allowing this deal would reclaim some of those gains.


http://www.multichan...ill_Hearing.php