Instead of approving this merger, is there another way the government could encourage competition? Perhaps break up the larger carriers or some how promote new upstart competition?
Your statement sounds correct but I don’t exactly like the reality.
Your statement sounds correct but I don’t exactly like the reality.
Running a nationwide cellular network is expensive and complicated AF. You have to provide a level playing field if you want to enable competition without needing hundreds of millions of dollars to start up.
before this, wireless tech/infrastructure just wasn't good enough, and needed continuing investment to improve. now that we're over the hump, a GSE can begin buying up the 4G infrastructure and leaving operations/service to the carriers.
since there are 4 national and some regional carriers, you could even divvy the duplicative infrastructure up between state and federal GSEs, much like state and federal highways. then you'd have some semblance of competition that would keep the infrastructure from just crumbling away from political/bureaucratic neglect.
I guess you could enforce roaming agreements like they do in the EU(?) but then you still would have carriers having to negotiate with each other when one carrier has more external roaming traffic with the other - like Internet peering arrangements.
I don’t have a strong emotional opinion either way. Just trying to come up with pros and cons.