Gastronomic challenges

Like most things that taste good but that are not good for you (think Dairy Queen Blizzard) the industry’s taste for mergers and acquisitions is getting out of hand, leaving a bad taste for many.
Over the past several weeks, a number of once-prominent regional operators have been gobbled up by the increasingly obese nationwide operators, leaving fewer competitors in large swaths of rural markets.
First AT&T Mobility picked off Dobson, followed by Verizon Wireless plucking Rural Cellular and last week T-Mobile USA said it would devour SunCom. There have been other deals, too, shrinking the number of tier-two operators to a mere handful.
Each of the big eaters noted the fiscal benefits of the acquisitions as well as the innumerous benefits set to be bestowed upon the customers of those carriers being ingested. It’s hard to argue with their claims of decreased roaming charges and greater control over network quality, as well as the ability for rural customers to enjoy the same devices as their friends living in the hood.
However, while these rural customers can now slowly surf the Web over their iPhone or wait in the same que to speak with a customer service rep, they also have narrower choices for service providers; and there are fewer chances to compete on price.
This has not gone unnoticed by consumer groups and federal regulators. It’s odd that the same government that is rubber-stamping virtually any telecom M&A deal is also spending untold tax dollars trying to increase regulations on how these carriers should treat their customers.
One bright spot is the current tango between Leap and MetroPCS, which has been fun to watch as both companies are in the awkward stage of the relationship, where they would rather take pot-shots at each others’ operations than get down to the real nitty-gritty. When completed, and most people think it’s only a matter of time, the combined operations could provide a genuine threat in major markets to the current Big 4. While neither carrier has made significant dents in market share against their larger rivals, the marketing might behind a combined operation is sure to increase the pressure on the established operators and could provide a true alternative to what’s currently on the wireless menu.