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Senate hearing on Verizon marketing and spectrum deal draws questions on prices and FiOS service

By  |  March 22, 2012

The Senate Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights reviewed the Verizon joint marketing plan and its spectrum deal on Wednesday. The marketing plan proposed by Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, and Bright House Networks bundles Verizon Wireless sales together with Comcast television.

Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) asked a Verizon Wireless executive how prices were to be kept at the same level as those offered by cable companies. Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) also expressed concerns with higher costs of cable. In response, general counsel for Verizon Wireless Randal S. Milch said that Verizon’s deep investments in FiOS ensure that it will continue to be offered, a sentiment echoed by a Verizon Wireless executive. Comcast’s executive vice president David L. Cohen said that the spectrum was offered to other competitors, but Verizon was the only entity that could buy the surplus airwaves.

Full content: Washington Post

 

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