AT&T Crank

Didn't we already break up AT&T? Guess that is like asking "Didn't we already invade Iran?" Can this administration keep ignoring history? I guess they will. After the AT&T monopoly breakup we saw an explosion of telecommunication innovations and options that was good for the markets, good for the consumer and good for business. Now AT&T is huge again with less competitors. And it is getting bigger with the proposed purchase of their competitor: Cellular One. Enough is enough even if the iPhone is now available to more rural customers. And if you haven't notice, cell phone contracts are getting longer and bills are getting bigger. Business consolidation may not give us a pure monopoly but it sure raises the barriers to entry and prices.

And while I'm at it, what about that AT&T name? Cingular changed their name to AT&T. Marketing research probably shows that more people know how to spell AT&T than Cingular so the merged company took over the old name. Simple. Three letters and a squiggle. But I suggest they change the name just slightly to AT$T. It is only money out of your pocket.