NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Independent Analyst? Or AT&T Booster Pushing T-Mobile Merger?
Independent Analyst? Or AT&T Booster Pushing T-Mobile Merger? http://j.mp/kHE2S6 (This message in Google Buzz) In an AP article today (original headline, "T-Mobile USA posts record subscriber losses" -- more dramatic headlines from some AP outlets: http://j.mp/jVtcln [Huffington]), a "telecom analyst" named Roger Entner does his best to claim, essentially, that T-Mobile is washed up, done for, and that AT&T is the savior of T-Mobile subscribers: "There's no bright spot in these numbers ..." "Almost the worst thing that can happen for the subscribers of T-Mobile is the merger not happening ..." Wow. That sounds pretty bad, despite the fact that since the merger announcement, the T-Mobile customers "fleeing" apparently are mostly trying to proactively *avoid* dealing with AT&T -- not rushing to AT&T in joy. (Twice in previous mergers, I've been sucked back to AT&T after trying to leave their mobile services.) It's almost as if Entner wasn't just analyzing the situation, he at least seems to be a serious AT&T booster. Make T-Mobile look awful enough, and perhaps you create a self-fulfilling prophecy to assure the merger? Haven't we heard from Entner before? Oh yes. *On the day* the proposed merger was announced, Entner was already at the front of the cheer-leading squad ( http://j.mp/kXg3BF [ FierceWireless ] ) with "balanced" analysis like: "There are so many winners in this combination ..." "AT&T has struck a great bargain." "T-Mobile USA customers who have suffered through years of underinvestment in T-Mobile's network are joining an operator with a track record of bringing innovation to Americans." Entner seems to be providing everything except the AT&T sales 800 number ... Back to today's story, where the real culprit would seem to be AP, who quoted Entner and another apparent merger supporter without bothering it seems to talk to (or at least quote) any of the vast number of experts who do *not* support the merger. This one-sided presentation of course is likely to scare even more T-Mobile subscribers away, creating more of a self-fulfilling prophecy, and bringing additional joy to AT&T's corporate "Ma Bell is Back!" executives and their minions in the AT&T "astroturf" army. In particular, I'm very disappointed in AP's Peter Svensson who authored the story today. I've talked to Peter for stories on various issues in the past, and I've respected his work. How and why he generated this AT&T-skewed piece is difficult to understand. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org Founder: - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein Google Buzz: http://j.mp/laurenbuzz Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com