IIA Statement on Merger of AT&T and T-Mobile

By Brad

Originally posted yesterday.

IIA Encouraged by the Potential for the Announced Merger of AT&T & T-Mobile USA to Advance Broadband Deployment and Adoption

Partnership proposes to bring mobile broadband services to 95% of Americans including rural and underserved communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 20, 2011 – In response to the announcement of AT&T Inc. and Deutsche Telekom AG entering a merger agreement today, the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA) – a broad-based coalition supporting broadband availability and access for all Americans and including AT&T as a Member – today released the following statement on the decision:

“For seven years the Internet Innovation Alliance has advocated for government policies and market actions that expand broadband availability and encourage adoption.  As regulators review the proposed transaction we encourage them to first do no harm, and to focus on how such a deal will impact broadband deployment, reduce address wireless congestion and enable more robust and innovative applications.

Clearly many questions will be asked and answered over the next months.  We are encouraged by what we see, and heartened by the companies’ already-stated commitment to deploy their combined network to more neighborhoods and more citizens, especially communities of color and rural areas.  Given government restrictions on spectrum allocations and transferability, market combinations such as this may prove the most sensible and efficient means to handle the exponential explosion of wireless data and best serve Internet entrepreneurs and consumers.”