Sunday, February 12, 2012

Should AT&T Merge With T-Mobile?

After stumbling through various articles on the Media Access Project website, this headline immediately caught my eye.  Potentially, a merger between the two giants in the cellular phone market would again make AT&T the largest cell company.  This would be a massive merger that would have an enormous impact on the cell phone market, and the way in which consumers make their cell phone choices.  First, the merger  would lead to less models, and in all likelihood, higher prices.  With less competitors, AT&T will have more freedom to increase prices, as there is a lack of alternatives.  What's more, they will be less inclined to make new models.
This is especially unfortunate given the low prices that T-Mobile currently offers.  Although other companies like Verizon will still exist, the blog makes it clear that AT&T would have no problem jacking up prices.  Think of the Iphone, and how AT&T was able to keep hold of that product for years.  They were able to keep the price ridiculously high, and ensure that consumers bought their product since they simply couldn't get it anywhere else.
It could also shape the media market and slow the advancement of social media and other applications on our phone.  The rise in technology of cell phones is incredible in the last decade alone.  That being said, this potential merger could definitely slow the acceleration of cell phones and their capabilities.  Personally, I would hate to see a merger between the two companies.  Not because I am a T-mobile customer, but I know it would hurt consumers in general, and who wants that.  With a merger, businesses and the general public would pay higher prices and have less freedoms or models to choose from.  The AT&T/T-Mobile merger would hurt consumers and lead to more media dominance by one outlet.  Plus I wouldn't get to hear the T-Mobile girl tell me to get more minutes.  I've grown accustomed to that.  Article

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