Competition is fierce in the world of wireless, but that doesn’t mean that telecom giants can’t occasionally come to each other’s aid in times of crisis. Case in point: Recent comments by Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam which appear to be in favor of rival AT&T gobbling up T-Mobile.
BGR is reporting that the troubled AT&T merger with T-Mobile is finding an ally in a very unlikely place -- their arch enemy, Verizon Wireless. At an investor conference on Wednesday, Verizon Communications CEO Lowell McAdam went on record as being in favor of the proposed $39 billion T-Mobile USA acquisition, claiming “That match had to occur.”
McAdam’s comments appear to be more about the experience of the end user, and a warning to the U.S. government that something must be done about getting carriers the increased spectrum they need. “We need to be very thoughtful on what the impacts would be to the overall industry if this is a way to regulate the industry without actually passing regulation,” the CEO noted.
“I have taken the position that the AT&T merger with T-Mobile was kind of like gravity,” McAdam concluded. “It had to occur, because you had a company with a T-Mobile that had the spectrum but didn’t have the capital to build it out. AT&T needed the spectrum, they didn’t have it in order to take care of their customers, and so that match had to occur.”
McAdam has relayed the same to the Federal Communications Commission and other government officials, claiming that a block of AT&T’s acquisition “without providing a solution to the current spectrum crunch will ultimately harm American consumers,” BGR explains.
Sounds like someone at AT&T and T-Mobile needs to send a nice fruit basket to Mr. McAdam for the holidays…
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(Image courtesy of BGR)
