Only yesterday I posted about how the Ma Bell bogeyman was back. The AT&T Southern Bell deal would make AT&T (which had been SBC Communications until it bought AT&T last fall and assumed the AT&T brand) a telecom juggernaut with service in 22 states and a market capitalization of $170 billion. In a pathetic statement AT&T Head Honcho, Ed Whitacre said the deal was necessary for AT&T to maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly populous market. "We literally have hundreds of competitors coming in every day; it's nothing like the old days," Damn right Ed… In the old days, you owned and controlled everything… That’s what de-regulation was all about! "If approved, this merger will lead to higher local, long distance and cell phone prices for consumers across the country," said Gene Kimmekman, VP for Federal and International affairs at the Consumers Union. Even legislators are dubious about the deal. "Twenty years after the government broke up Ma Bell, this represents a mother and child reunion,'' said Rep. Ed Markey, the ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. "Our telecommunications markets must be competitive and open to innovation to promote job creation and economic growth. Which is exactly what was given as the reason for deregulation in 1984.
Resistance is futile. We will control all channels of communication. Even the ones Cheney thinks he has!
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