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Aug 28, 2012

The government recently approved the Big Cable deal. But opponents of the monopoly aren’t staying quiet.

David Balto, a former FTC policy director and trial attorney at the Justice Department’s antitrust division, recently analyzed why this “cartel in disguise” will hurt consumers and workers. He wrote in the Huffington Post:

Perhaps the DOJ accepted at face value Verizon's 2009 claims that it did not intend to further deploy FiOS. The DOJ ignores the obvious when it listens to these self-serving declarations: FiOS is a profitable endeavor, and one that Verizon would likely pursue if not for these deals. However, strategic redlining by Verizon as it has expanded FiOS has left many particularly susceptible locations without this important alternative. Millions of consumers in Albany, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Wilmington will likely never know the benefits of competition because the DOJ action fell short of addressing the harm to competition. 

And Balto argues that the agency’s attempt to preserve FiOS where it already exists also fails because of “numerous and extensive loopholes and carve-outs.”

It’s no wonder nearly 50 members of Congress, local officials and consumer advocates expressed opposition to this agreement.