Nobody Believes AT&T's Rural Broadband Myth Except the Politicians AT&T Funds
Yesterday I saw a short story describing how 9 state agriculture commissioners had endorsed AT&T's bid to takeover T-Mobile. The story didn't mention how much campaign cash AT&T has given the group, so I tallied it up using online tools from the Center for Responsive Politics and the National Institute on Money in State Politics.
Turns out AT&T has showered the group with campaign cash -- $135,000 over their political careers. I should point out that three in the group are appointed by governors, so they've received no money from AT&T. (The governors who did the appointing have, but I didn't count that.)
So basically you've got 6 politicians who've gotten an average of $22,500 from AT&T. It should surprise no one the officials have endorsed AT&T's rural broadband myth.
And it is a myth.
1) AT&T has no plans to expand its existing footprint with 4G to cover areas not already covered by 3G. That means 50 percent of the land area of the U.S. will never be covered by AT&T. If you don't believe me, look up what AT&T's CEO told the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee.
2) AT&T does not need to buy T-Mobile to bring 4G into rural America. They admitted to the FCC they could do it on their own for $3.8 billion -- a fraction of what they have offered Deutsche Telekom to takeover T-Mobile.
3) AT&T doesn't need any more spectrum to build out to rural America. In fact, they have more unused warehoused spectrum than any other wireless carrier in the country. Remember, Verizon, which has less spectrum and more customers than AT&T has committed to building out 4G to cover 98 percent of America. Does anyone seriously believe that AT&T will sit on its hands if the courts block the T-Mobile takeover?
p.s. Although, it's on this blog's home page, I'll repeat it here. This blog reflects my personal view and not those of my employer.
p.p.s. The Hereford cow pictured above is named Rose. She lives at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
