T-Mobile Customers Mobilize, as May 31 FCC Deadline Looms
I've worked in Washington on and off for a long time. Regardless of where they stand on the ideological spectrum, I assure you, politicians of all stripes respond to real people weighing in on a public policy issue. Washington is filled with political consultants who, for a price, will organize fake grassroots efforts to generate calls to Congress and the like.
These efforts may be effective, but honestly in my view, politicians pay more attention the real thing.
It's been only a few days since the FCC announced that the public had until May 31 to make its views known about AT&T's takeover of T-Mobile, but already several efforts have launched across the Internet which ask readers to file formal comments at the FCC in the docket.
From what I can tell, these efforts are organic and not manufactured by consumer groups or others opposed to this transaction. Here's a sample of blog headlines:
- TmoNews, the unofficial T-Mobile blog: "Make your voice heard, tell the FCC how you feel!"
- Android Police: "FCC is Open to Comments on the AT&T/T-Mobile Deal -- Grab Your Pitchfork!"
- The Gadgets: "FCC Asks for Public Opinion on AT&T/T-Mobile Merger"
- Binary Outcast: "FCC Opened up Docket for Public Comments on AT&T-TMobile Deal"
Consumers are responding.
Last night, Communications Daily, a trade publication focused on the FCC, wrote in their lead story that the Commission, "is starting to get some "grassroots" push back against AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile, with several dozen consumers filing short statements in recent days."
You can check these comments out for yourself here. As of this writing, over 100 real people have weighed in.
If you want to join them and file your own comments, you have until May 31. In this blog post, I explain step-by-step how to do that. (The FCC doesn't make it easy, but I've tried to.)
