Thursday, March 24, 2011

Why AT&T's purchase of T-mobile shouldn't be stopped

So an article from The Economist details why they believe it should be stopped before it really begins.  They argue that by combining AT&T and T-Mobile they are going to eliminate choices and start a new duopoly with Verizon, something AT&T was broken up for in the past.  Then they list the numbers.  AT&T with T-Mobile would have a 39% market share.  Combined with Verizon, it goes up to 70%.  Not nearly high enough numbers to be considered a duopoly. Here's some more numbers:As of December 2010, Windows OS has a 90% market share.  Mac is at 6%.  Over 96% of the personal computer market share is between two companies.  How about the internet? Google dominates the search engine market with nearly 85%.  Yahoo brings in over 5.5%.  So 90% of the personal computing market is dominated by 2 companies. Android and iOS bring in over 50% market share.  McDonalds and Burger King have 94% of burger chain market share.  Should we prevent companies from expanding because, when combined with another, they own a large majority of the market?

11 comments:

  1. that is true, however, i don't pay a MONTHLY fee to google or microsoft. that is the huge difference here. You also must realize a lot of people in rural areas have even less choice.

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  2. As long as the average consumer doesn't end up getting screwed in the end, I couldn't care less.

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  3. What can i say:

    http://www.2flashgames.com/2fgkjn134kjlh1cfn81vc34/flash/f-Watermelon-Cat-8473.jpg

    No offence hehe :)

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  4. I hate AT&T. their service is terrible and them getting anyone else's contracts is bad news for those people

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  5. Good point, there are definitely other things that should be looked at before this

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  6. Hopefully it all works out for the best.

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  7. I plan on never owning a cell phone.

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  8. The more companies, the better the customer's off.

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