Uncategorized Related Posts

Posted December 9, 2011

Did you know that one quarter of the U.S. population consists of people who are elderly, have a disability, or both?  And 30% of households in this country have a family member with a disability.  With our aging population, roughly 10,000 people turn 65 every day.  And this trend is expected to continue for the…

Posted December 1, 2011

Earlier today, I spoke on a panel at the Phoenix Center telecom symposium.  My point about consumer protection was not meant as a criticism of the FCC—it was a call for the Congress to clarify the issue by reexamining the Telecom Act.  As I explained on the panel, both the public and the Congress have…

Posted December 1, 2011 • 20 comments

The following may be attributed to an AT&T spokesperson:  We expected that the AT&T-T-Mobile transaction would receive careful, considered, and fair analysis.   Unfortunately, the preliminary FCC Staff Analysis offers none of that.  The document is so obviously one-sided that any fair-minded person reading it is left with the clear impression that it is an advocacy piece, and…

Posted November 30, 2011

The following may be attributed to Tim McKone, AT&T Executive Vice President of Federal Relations:  “We are very encouraged by the tremendous effort by members of the House to put forth comprehensive legislation that will make available more spectrum for mobile broadband services.  We commend Representatives Waxman and Eshoo for their leadership in addressing this…

Posted November 29, 2011 • 9 comments

The following may be attributed to an AT&T spokesperson:  “The FCC has recognized that it is required by its own rules to dismiss our merger application.  This makes all the more troubling their decision to nonetheless release a preliminary staff report on the merger.  This report is not an order of the FCC and has…

Posted November 29, 2011

The following statement on the Jumpstarting Opportunity with Broadband Spectrum (JOBS) Act of 2011, unveiled today by Chairman Walden, may be attributed to Tim McKone, AT&T Executive Vice President of Federal Relations: “We are pleased to support this legislation focused on addressing one of the most pressing infrastructure problems facing our country – the need to…

Posted November 29, 2011

I read with interest Harold Feld’s blog and a related filing by Public Knowledge and the Media Access Project (MAP) on AT&T’s withdrawal of its merger application from the FCC.   While Harold and his colleagues sometimes have interesting arguments to make, this isn’t one of those times. Here are the facts: On Wednesday, November 23, 2011,…

Posted November 25, 2011

The following statement is attributed to Wayne Watts, AT&T Senior Executive VP and General Counsel: “Yesterday AT&T withdrew its application with the FCC for approval of our merger with T-Mobile.  We took the required actions, announced this publicly, and filed securities disclosures accordingly.  We believe the record will show that we withdrew our merger application…

Posted November 24, 2011

Companies Withdraw FCC Applications; AT&T Expects to Recognize $4 Billion Charge; Companies Focus on Gaining DOJ Approval On Nov. 22, 2011, the Federal Communications Commission indicated a proposed order was circulating that would designate for hearing the applications of AT&T Inc. and Deutsche Telekom AG For Consent To Assign or Transfer Control of Licenses and…

Posted November 22, 2011

The following should be attributed to Larry Solomon, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, AT&T: “The FCC’s action today is disappointing. It is yet another example of a government agency acting to prevent billions in new investment and the creation of many thousands of new jobs at a time when the US economy desperately needs both.  …