AT&T + U-Verse + Direct TV + Cingular + SBC + AT$T @ $16 Billion = Monopoly, that is against the Law

[Stinger2]

AT&T + U-Verse + Direct TV + Cingular + SBC + AT$T @ $16 Billion = Monopoly, that is against the Law.

AT&T, Inc., the largest telecommunications company in the United States following the merger in 2005 between SBC Communications Inc. and AT&T Corp. After receiving regulatory and shareholder approval to acquire AT&T in November 2005 for $16 billion, SBC decided to adopt the AT&T name, keeping alive the brand name of the former American Telephone and Telegraph Company, which held a virtual monopoly on telephone service in the United States until 1984, when it was forced to divest itself of local telephone operations under the terms of an antitrust agreement. The new company was named AT&T, Inc.

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761590231/at_t_inc_.html

Monopoly

In economics, a monopoly (from Greek monos , alone or single + polein , to sell) exists when a specific individual or enterprise has sufficient control over a particular product or service to determine significantly the terms on which other individuals shall have access to it.<1> Monopolies are thus characterized by a lack of economic competition for the good or service that they provide and a lack of viable substitute goods.<2> The verb "monopolize" refers to the process by which a firm gains persistently greater market share than what is expected under perfect competition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly

AT&T Inc AT$T

After being broken up in the mid-1980s in a landmark antitrust case, this telecommunications icon re-formed in 2005, and became the nation’s largest phone company when SBC Communications bought AT&T Corp. for $16 billion. As SBC, the company led the fight to allow the Baby Bells to enter the long-distance market, where they hope to offer profitable broadband Internet services. Cable and telecom companies have been fighting over the issue for several years and recent legislation in the House would allow national cable franchises to be awarded to the telecoms. The cable industry complains this would allow telecoms to unfairly cherry-pick rich suburbs. The telecoms say that allowing states to issue all television licenses will drive down rates for consumers and add hundreds of channel choices. AT&T now has more than 49 million access lines in service. Cingular, which bought AT&T Wireless for $14 billion in 2004 and was part of SBC, is now in AT&T’s fold. Cingular is the leading US wireless carrier, with more than 54 million subscribers. And AT&T’s growth continues. In 2006, AT&T agreed to buy southern Baby Bell BellSouth in a deal valued at more than $65 billion.

http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000076&lname=AT%26T

Total Lobbying Expenditures: by AT&T = $9,281,499
2004

http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?year=2004&lname=AT%26T

SBC Leads the Way in Political Pump-Priming $16 million lobbying $10 million in political contributions

The leading source of political froth in the states is San Antonio-based SBC Communications, the most aggressive of the dwindling family of "Baby Bell" companies. Now grown into a hulking bruiser, SBC spent $16 million lobbying state governments from 2003-2004 and another $10 million in political contributions from 1999 to 2004.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/telco_lobby.html


During the anything goes Pay to Play lobbing (2004, $9,281,499) In the Bush administration AT&T started buying up Phone Companies spending Billions, then SBC buys up AT&T to make the deal. Now SBC is AT&T now acquired Direct TV, so they not only have the Phone Monopoly + Cingular they have Satalite Broadcasting, Called a Monopoly.

Time to Break them up again, like the Credit Card Companies, they will charge what they want and knock out all competition. My internet connection went from $14.99 to $50.00 soon as Acquisition of AT$T and SBC took over.

[Occam Bandage]

1. So switch to cable. nt

[givemebackmycountry]

2. I'm in this business...

I worked for Mountain Bell in the early eighties and was on the front line when this happened.
A year or two later AT&T had the largest single day force reduction in history.
24,000 thousand people.

I was one of them.

This shit matters to me because I ain't on the winning team anymore.
But, I'm still doing what I do.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

3. this is the basic problem with the US economy

We allow unlimited corporate consolidation which creates giant, but completely dysfunctional monopolies. This is bad for consumers both because they fix prices and because they can crush any potential competitor. Even a dead rotting elephant can kill the healthiest body. It is also bad for the economy because it creates monsters that are too big to fail without having a severe macroeconomic impact, so we don't let them fail.

AT&T continues its rampage to this day as it buys up every independent cell phone carrier in the United States.