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US: FCC brings on new staff

By  |  January 10, 2014

The Federal Communications Commission vowed last week to keep a close eye on the nation’s telecommunications industry as the Top Four wireless providers go head-to-head for market share. As the FCC gears up to watch the fight, reports say the telco regulator has appointed new staff, including a new chief economist.

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    Reports say FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has brought on Tim Brennan as the regualtor’s new chief economist; Wheeler also announced the appointment of Clete Johnson as chief counsel for cybersecurity, a position in the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.

    T-Mobile Buyout

    The appointments were announced the same week T-Mobile spoke transparently regarding rumors the company is headed to be bought out by rival Sprint.

    Reports say T-Mobile CEO John Legere declined to confirm or deny such a merger would happen, but did tell reporters that a transaction with Sprint “would provide significant scale and capability.”

    The executive assured, however, that with any merger, T-Mobile and its operations would “prevail” over another business’s practices.

    T-Mobile recently acquired spectrum from top rival Verizon. But Legere told reporters that future M&A activity in the wireless industry will likely involve brands as opposed to spectrum.

    ”Sprint is a pile of spectrum waiting to be turned into a capability,” he said.

    Verizon recently spoke about the recent onslaught of competitiveness in the industry, noting that the Department of Justice is “beginning to see some of the things that they were hoping to see out of the four” after the DOJ blocked AT&T’s plans to acquire T-Mobile two years prior.

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