DOJ Continues To Point Out A Mega-Merged AT&T Will Jack Up Prices On Everybody
from the do-not-pass-go,-do-not-collect-$200 dept
AT&T recently defeated the DOJ’s challenge to their $86 billion merger with Time Warner thanks to a comically narrow reading of the markets by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon. At no point in his 172-page ruling (which approved the deal without a single condition) did Leon show the faintest understanding that AT&T intends to use vertical integration synergistically with the death of net neutrality to dominate smaller competitors.
In fact, net neutrality was never even mentioned by the DOJ at the multi-week trial. Likely in part because the DOJ didn’t want to highlight how the Trump FCC was screwing everybody over with one hand, while the Trump DOJ was allegedly suing AT&T to “protect consumers” with the other (some argue that Trump’s disdain for CNN and adoration of Rupert Murdoch were the more likely motivators). But if you ignore the fact that AT&T plans to use its monopoly over many broadband markets (from residential to cellular tower backhaul) combined with the death of net neutrality to make life difficult for consumers and competitors alike, you’re not paying any attention to history or to AT&T’s repeated nods in that general direction.
During the first trial, you’ll recall the DOJ and its hired economists repeatedly pointed out how AT&T’s vertical integration and ownership of “must have” content (like HBO) would provide the Dallas-based giant every incentive to raise TV rates. AT&T lawyers laughed those findings off, then immediately proceeded to…raise rates and hammer users with bogus new fees as it attempted to deal with the massive debt incurred from the merger. Those rate hikes were a major reason the DOJ decided it should try and appeal Leon’s initial ruling.
As the DOJ works on its appeal of Leon’s ruling, the government continues to point out in filings (pdf) that all of its economic models show that AT&T’s ownership of Time Warner and DirecTV will provide the company with endless opportunities to raise rates on competitors and consumers:
“The bargaining model is an accepted and reliable predictor of competitive effects in the pay-television industry, and Professor Shapiro used reasonable inputs to quantify the magnitude of cost increases that AT&T would impose on rivals through negotiations?and the consequent higher prices for consumers?separate and apart from the non-quantifiable harms of the merger, such as reduced choice and stymied innovation…Given the district court?s illogical conclusion that the merger will lead to no change in bargaining leverage, and its erroneous finding of no consumer harm, a remand is necessary.”
One of the major problems here is that lobbying has weakened antitrust enforcement so severely, government lawyers are now trapped within very narrow confines of economic theory to prove a point that should be common sense (especially if you’ve watched AT&T do business for more than five seconds): AT&T has a long history of behaving anti-competitively, and being even larger is going to make that even easier. There’s roughly a million examples out there showing how AT&T exploits and abuses its captive customers with an ocean of bad behaviors.
That this will get worse as AT&T grows larger and more powerful shouldn’t be a hard argument to make, even for lawyers trapped in the narrow hallways of accepted economic theory. And again, this is all before you even get to the fact that AT&T lobbyists just convinced the FCC to neuter itself on demand for no adult policy reason beyond it was what AT&T executives wanted.
Filed Under: antitrust, doj, mergers, prices
Companies: at&t, time warner
Comments on “DOJ Continues To Point Out A Mega-Merged AT&T Will Jack Up Prices On Everybody”
Laissez Faire Capitalism strikes again
Re: LF
The perfect libertarian dream – unpaved roads, undrinkable water, unopposed monopolies! Because that way everyone will have unparalleled opportunities.
Re: Re: LF
Nah. the Libertarian dream is:
1. “Fuck you, I got mine”
2. “I don’t need it anymore, so neither should you”
Re: Re: Re: LF
In addition, the Libertarian tagline (and motto) is:
“Fuck you, gimme”.
Re: Re: Re: LF
“2. “I don’t need it anymore, so neither should you””
Should read; 2. “I don’t need it anymore, but you can’t have it anyway neener-neener”
Re: Re: LF
God damn “Government”, coming after my Lead Paint again!
http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-lead-paint-20181015-story.html
Every Nation eats the Paint chips it Deserves!
Re: Re: Re: LF
Trickle down poisoning.
Re: Re:
Ma Bell, but now with TV, too!
Re: Re:
accusing the wrong problem strikes again
Re: Re: Re:
and the real problem is …..
Re: Re:
"Laissez Faire Capitalism strikes again"
Capitalism assumes an equal playing field. Where in this game of monopoly do you see any such?
The US has already been backsliding on broadband infrastructure for years. If any more cable owners merge they’ll be right back to the America Off Line standard of the 90’s.
Re: Re: Re:
Capitalism assumes an equal playing field.
There’s your problem. The Libertarian solution is to pretend there’s an equal playing field and carry on regardless of the actual situation. It’s why I make fun of them and it’s what makes their ideology such a pointless cul-de-sac. Idealism alone can only get you so far. Sooner or later you’ve got to take reality into account.
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Yeah – don’t understand that level field stuff, where do they get this assumption and why do they ignore the fact that it is simply never the case? I think it is because they do not want to address the inherent corruption that drives the system.
With apologies to Tom Lehrer
Time for class-action lawsuit against Ajit Pai
Sue the bastard for everything he and his overlords have.
Show the collusion in his personal ham-stringing of the net-neutrality reversal.
Why the hell isn’t Ajit already in prison for interfering with federal criminial investigations?
Re: Time for class-action lawsuit against Ajit Pai
Because, like most high level politicians, he’s good at covering his ass. You better believe he’ll throw someone under the bus if it looks like he’s being looked at, as he already did with that fiasco with the alleged DDOS attacks… and that merger with Sinclair. He tossed people under the bus on both those.
_AT&T intends to use vertical integration synergistically with the death of net neutrality to dominate smaller competitors._
They have synergized the eschaton.
Re: Re:
Thank you, I had to look up ‘eschaton’. Can now check off the box labeled “Learn something today.”
Seems at least one of AT&T’s kids paid attention during Monopoly class. The new AT&T is baby bell Southwestern Bell all grown up after buying up several of the other kids plus the parent.
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A more useful reference might be the phrase off of which i was playing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immanentize_the_eschaton
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And yes. Minus anything remotely useful like Bell Labs and good equipment.
Fuck you, Bodey McBodeface. Drink! Drink!
Re: Re:
Up yours, Dick. SESTA vote!
pheew
For a second there, I thought you were trying to say that mankind is greedy or something.
All is forgiven.
All the smart people left..
NO intelligent person wishes to be a politician..
I wonder why.
fighting off all the Shills, and payoffs, and backdoors and Pork barrels..
Whats the first rule in city building??(computer games) TRY NOT to change the taxes to quickly..
I get the feeling things are about to change…not for the better. As with the game, when yo change things Quickly..it goes STRANGE..
Capitalism.
Iv a debate going with a younger person who thinks Utopia can be made..and I show him how all the forms of gov/society can be Abused by Capitalism.. That control mechanisms and soforth HAVE to be put into place and HELD THERE..
In the beginning, we set a few rules, as time went by we ADDED MORE to control things, because they got REAL creative.
So, how much does it cost to ruin a nation and change it to the Capitalist dream?? ALLOT…of money and time..
It didnt start yesterday..
Guess where the money comes from..YOU PAID FOR IT..
You start at the counties..then the states..Then the Major offices.. You find the agencies are easy to control, as no one notices them or their affect.
Where do these people LOOK for information, WHO do they ask and pay attention to..
And we paid for it all..INCLUDING THEIR TAXES..
“fighting off all the Shills, and payoffs, and backdoors and Pork barrels..”
I suspect there is an additional item required of political office, the existence of dirt upon one’s self as this is how they control you. What was that movie .. oh yeah, The Firm. Law student signs up with what looks to be a reputable law firm only to find out they are a mob outfit who then sets him up with a spiked drink and a hooker. Leverage.
The merger may not particularly help consumers, but the DoJ under Trump is even more not helping consumers (aka citizens) of this country; so I’ll go with the lesser of two evils myself.
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…why not go with the one that’s actually right in this situation?
AT&T sees itself as the legacy "Ma Bell"
Who originally used its monopoly to rake in gobs of dependable profit – and believe it or not, the “dependable” part of it likely outweighs the “profit” part, at least in the minds of these fledgling monopolists.
TR would look upon this situation, and the gov’t’s cringing, slovenly approach to it with disdain, if not disgust.
But then, if both parties hadn’t squandered that legacy for partisan purposes, we wouldn’t be in this present predicament.