'Voices Coalition': Wireless Deal Blows Apart Bell Claims on Broadband Investment Incentives
Posted on: Tuesday, 17 February 2004, 06:00 CST
WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Earlier today, Cingular Wireless, a joint venture of SBC and BellSouth, announced a deal to purchase AT&T Wireless with a cash offer of $41 billion.
In response, Peter Arnold, spokesman of the Voices for Choices coalition (http://www.voicesforchoices.org/) issued the following statement:
"The most interesting aspect of this deal is how it almost perfectly undercuts the RBOC's own claims on broadband investment. Look at the record: last year, the FCC gave the RBOCs precisely the broadband investment incentives that they had long demanded. But it still did no good -- SBC and BellSouth continue to stonewall on improving their DSL's notorious quality, even while demanding new changes to federal law.
By coming up with $41 billion in cash to purchase AT&T Wireless, these two companies show first that they still have access to massive capital investment. Second, by marshalling those resources for wireless instead of broadband, SBC and BellSouth have shown that in spite of all of their public claims, their real priorities do not include providing quality broadband throughout their region.
There's no way that SBC and BellSouth can square this circle. Their efforts to further undercut federal competition laws are simply another cynical ploy to reestablish their unregulated monopolies."
Voices for Choices is a coalition of associations and companies that support fair competition in local telephone service and high-speed Internet access. Members include: The Association for Local Telecommunications Services (ALTS), The CompTel/ASCENT Alliance, Citizens Against Government Waste, Small Business Survival Committee, and AT&T.
Voices for Choices
CONTACT: Peter Arnold of Voices for Choices, +1-703-629-8552
Web site: http://www.voicesforchoices.org/
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