Anyone opinions on the DOJ smackdown?
From a fairly uninformed position (i.e. I have not read any of the briefs, only heard blurbs in the media)
(1) Not a fan of monopolies (duopolies) and I think that this merger would create an effective duopoly (>80% market share)
(2) I think that is interesting that they claim jobs will be created by the merger. Not sure of the last time that has happened or has been claimed.
(3) I think that when they broke up Ma Bell they separated the ownership of “transmission” and service. With cellular operators, they own both, how will that play out.
(4) I have a Sprint work phone. Nobody from ATT mobile has been able to get through to my phone over the last few days, but other carriers and land lines can, conspiracy 
Also a bit uninformed with the legalities involved (american in canada) but it seems like the merger would be harmful (I cringe as I’m more in favor of the free market in general). A good example is the Rogers/Bell duopoly up here in Canada–several reports have shown pretty dismal services for the money paid in comparison to other global markets. There are a few smaller companies here, but they’re minor compared to the big two and offer hardly any competition. I myself have an American Verizon phone with a North America plan so I can call anyone on the continent (no data/texting though) and pay less per month for two people on the plan than I would for one person with a voice-only Canadian plan only under a Canadian carrier. I believe Verizon pays so that I can borrow Rogers towers up here.
Either Stewart or Colbert (can’t remember) had a good bit on it, but here’s another graphic that somewhat sums it up for me:
At least it’s better than the cable companies since I can actually choose between all the different wireless providers.
Anyone opinions on the DOJ smackdown?
I still haven’t gotten over the fact that someone actually remembered we had anti-trust laws. If we actually had applied them to the banking industry, the last few years may have gone differently.
Hey, if we needed anti-trust laws in the banking industry - the free market would have already put them in place.