Ownership

How AT&T's antitrust battle looms over the Sprint/T-Mobile deal

The outcome of AT&T's fight with the Justice Department over its bid for Time Warner could shape the regulatory review of the long-anticipated union of Sprint and T-Mobile. 

Massive MIMO to play role in T-Mobile/Sprint 5G readiness

One of the things that will enable T-Mobile and Sprint to move fast with their 5G integration is a not-so-little thing called Massive multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO). Of course, it’s business as usual for each company while they make their case before regulators, but Sprint CTO John Saw said one of the things that will make for a faster integration is Massive MIMO, something Sprint has been working on for some time.  “With Massive MIMO we are able to actually upgrade existing towers,” Saw said.

Blocking T-Mobile’s last big merger turned out great for U.S. consumers. So what’s different now?

Why would the US government want to reduce competitiveness now by letting T-Mobile and Sprint merge? It’s not as if there are many up-and-coming challengers in the market — even Google’s attempts seem half-hearted. (Also, given the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against the AT&T-Time Warner merger, it’ll want to eye this deal with the same scrutiny.)

Will regulators approve the massive T-Mobile-Sprint merger?

As the two smaller players in a wireless industry dominated by four companies, T-Mobile and Sprint argue that they need to link up to effectively challenge Verizon and AT&T, and the creation of a new wireless behemoth — with nearly 100 million customers — will allow them to build out a national 5G network. T-Mobile CEO John Legere has already raised the specter of Chinese competition on the next-generation network technology. And although that argument will be thoroughly questioned by critics, it’s one that could get some play in the Trump administration.

Will The Sprint T-Mobile Merger Pass Regulatory Muster?

Although there is a view that the regulatory environment for large mergers may have softened with the current government, a deal could still face considerable hurdles. The stance of the current administration on telecommunication mergers has been somewhat unpredictable. For instance, the Justice Department sued AT&T November 2017 to block its $85 billion take-over of media behemoth Time Warner. There is a possibility that the DoJ could remain averse to a deal this time around as well.

Comcast won’t give new speed boost to Internet users who don’t buy TV service

As streaming video continues to chip away at cable TV subscriber numbers, Comcast is making some of its Internet speed increases available only to customers that pay for both Internet and video service. The week of April 23, Comcast announced speed increases for customers in Houston (TX) and the Oregon/SW Washington areas.

DOJ and AT&T offer closing arguments in antitrust case

The Justice Department made a final pitch against AT&T's $85 billion deal to acquire Time Warner, demanding in federal court that the deal be blocked or that AT&T should be permitted only to buy a portion of the media and entertainment giant. Addressing a packed courtroom that included the chief executives of both companies, Justice attorney Craig Conrath cited economic analyses, industry witnesses and AT&T's own statements to support the government's case opposing the tie-up.

Sprint, T-Mobile Agree to $26 Billion Merger

The boards of Sprint and T-Mobile US struck a $26 billion merger that, if allowed by antitrust enforcers, would leave the US wireless market dominated by three national players. Under the terms of the deal, T-Mobile will exchange 9.75 Sprint shares for each T-Mobile share. T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom will own 42% of the combined company and Sprint parent SoftBank Group will own 27%. The remaining 31% will be held by the public. Deutsche Telekom would also control voting rights over 69% of the new company and appoint nine of its 14 directors.

Suddenly, Time Is Of Essence for Sinclair/Tribune

[Commentary] It makes sense for Sinclair to keep things rolling at the Federal Communications Commission and close on the Tribune merger before a possible adverse court ruling on the FCC's UHF discount, which could come in August or September. I think that Sinclair now understands the urgency. The regulatory and legal picture is complicated. But under all the scenarios, its chances improve the quicker it moves with the Fox deal, the FCC process and the closing.

AT&T’s Tab Awaiting Time Warner Takeover Hits $1.4 Billion

Even if a federal judge sides with AT&T in its fight to take over Time Warner for $85 billion, victory won’t have come cheap. AT&T spent $1.1 billion in 2017 on debt interest and fees tied to the proposed merger, plus $214 million on related integration costs. The first quarter added another $67 million of integration costs. Time Warner said it spent $279 million on merger costs in 2017 and another $146 million through March.

Senators Want to Freeze FCC Media Decisions

Twenty-two US senators wrote Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai asking the FCC to stop making impacting the broadcast industry until it has taken a "holistic look" at the state of broadcasting and the media. They said they had noted Pai's elimination of local TV and radio ownership limits with growing concern. 

Unlike in US, Facebook Faces Tough Questions in Britain

In London, Facebook’s chief technology officer, Mike Schroepfer, faced more than four hours of questions from a British parliamentary committee over the company’s data-collection techniques, oversight of app developers, fake accounts, political advertising and links to the voter-targeting firm Cambridge Analytica. If American politicians have been lampooned for being Luddites, the British Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee has built a reputation for thoroughness and detailed questioning.

Reps. Square Off at Hearing Over Online Censorship

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rep James Hines (D-CT) testified before the House Judiciary Committee about alleged online censorship of conservative speech. The hearing was on "Filtering Practices of Social Media Platforms" and stemmed in part from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's testimony before Congress recently.  The first two panelists were members of Congress, and as such only presented statements and were not questioned afterward.

Chairman Pai Won't Commit to Delaying Sinclair Decision for Court Ruling

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai wasn't predicting when the FCC's vetting of the Sinclair-Tribune deal would be complete, but suggested that the FCC had not yet had a chance to fully evaluate it. Sinclair filed its latest, and expected to be last, amendment to the deal earlier during the week of April 23.  

How Comcast Wants To Change Cable Game

Comcast is trying to refigure the traditional cable bundle, adding services like Netflix to its subscription packages and offering internet-only TV streaming. Comcast, the world’s largest cable company, and other cable operators are trying to work out new relationships with once fierce rivals in a changing media landscape. Comcast and others have been trying to build a business that combine both the “pipes” — the internet services that connect everyone — and the producers of shows, movies, and other video.

Facebook can't get a break from DC conservatives

Facebook, despite years of outreach to conservatives, remains a punching bag for the right. Facebook’s lukewarm relationship with the right has complicated its search for DC allies to help fend off new privacy regulations. On April 24, the company announced it had replaced the head of its Washington office with Kevin Martin, former Republican Federal Communications Commission chairman. Facebook is bracing for another beating — this time, from some conservatives at a hearing featuring pro-Trump video stars Diamond and Silk, who say Facebook discriminated against their content.

Microsoft Airband Project Gains Another Partner, Targets Rural Virginia Fixed Wireless Project

Microsoft and Declaration Networks Group are partnering on a project to bring fixed wireless broadband to 65,000 people on Virginia’s eastern shore over the next three years. The Microsoft Declaration Networks deal is part of Microsoft’s Rural Airband initiative, which aims to bring broadband to unserved areas of the U.S. within five years using a mixture of wireless and wireline technology. Declaration Networks Group specialized in bringing broadband to rural areas using fixed wireless broadband.

Facebook Replaces Lobbying Executive With Former FCC Chairman Amid Regulatory Scrutiny

Facebook replaced its head of policy in the United States, Erin Egan, as the social network scrambles to respond to intense scrutiny from federal regulators and lawmakers. Egan, who is also Facebook’s chief privacy officer, was responsible for lobbying and government relations as head of policy for the last two years. She will be replaced by Kevin Martin on an interim basis. Martin has been Facebook’s vice president of mobile and global access policy and is a former Republican chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

Comcast Starts Bidding War With 21st Century Fox for Sky

Comcast formally unveiled a $30.7 billion takeover bid for Sky, putting the American cable giant squarely in a takeover battle with Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox for control over the British satellite broadcaster.  The terms of the long-awaited proposal were good enough to prompt Sky to withdraw its recommendation for Fox’s $16 billion bid for the 61 percent of Sky that it does not already own.

Sinclair to Sell TV Stations in Bid to Secure Tribune Deal Approval

Sinclair Broadcast Group has reached deals to sell nearly two dozen television stations as it works to get regulators to sign off on its purchase of Tribune Media. Sinclair said that the move to sell the 23 stations in 18 markets, some of which are owned by Sinclair and some by Tribune, was needed to obtain government approval for the $3.9 billion purchase of fellow television-station owner Tribune.

Key government witness admits error in AT&T-Time Warner case

The AT&T-Time Warner merger could end up costing consumers less money than what some earlier estimates suggest, the government's star witness admitted in federal court as he clashed repeatedly with company lawyers over key figures in his economic analysis of the deal. Instead of paying a minimum of 27 cents more per month on their bills as a result of the deal, TV subscribers could conceivably pay a smaller premium of at least 13 cents a month more — a downward revision in the projections of Carl Shapiro, an economist at the University of California–Berkeley.

Altaba, Formerly Known as Yahoo!, Charged With Failing to Disclose Massive Cybersecurity Breach; Agrees To Pay $35 Million

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that the entity formerly known as Yahoo! Inc.

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Congressional Internet Caucus Academy

Date: 
Fri, 04/27/2018 - 17:00 to 18:00

"Antitrust and competition policy is exciting stuff," said no one ever (except, of course, the very few who follow this arcane field of economics and algorithms). Yet in recent months on Capitol Hill competition policy buzzwords have started to be overheard in conversations outside of the traditional antitrust policy bastions such as the Antitrust subcommittees. Is all this "excitement" around competition policy because folks are curious how the new Administration will approach mergers and market concentration?



Facebook willingly handed over data to the man it now blames for the Cambridge Analytica scandal

Facebook handed over data, with no strings attached, to the man it now blames for the Cambridge Analytica scandal. That was the testimony Aleksandr Kogan — the data scientist behind the app that harvested information from 87 million Facebook accounts — gave to a committee of lawmakers in Britain on April 24.