In what could be one of the largest shakeups in America’s mobile industry for years, AT&T is seeking to acquire T-Mobile for a sum of $39 billion. It would make AT&T the largest mobile carrier in the U.S. But Verizon CEO Dan Mead isn’t worried.
“We have a tremendous amount of competition in the industry,” Mead stated today while at the CTIA Wireless convention. He is, of course, referring to AT&T and Sprint, which currently remain competitive with Verizon. Mead’s company, at the moment, currently has more subscribers than AT&T; it also helps that the company recently got its hands on the iPhone.
“I’m not concerned about it.”
But is there concern to be had? After all, why would the nation’s largest mobile provider not be worried about losing its top spot? Is it because there would be less competition after such an acquisition? Is it because the weakening of competition could lead to the weakening of Sprint, as well, thus leading to an eventual acquisition of Sprint for Verizon? Is it because the lack of competition could result in higher prices and increased profits for Verizon?
I’m not going to speculate. I’m only asking questions. But I will say that something does seem fishy about the whole deal.
