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Three competitors is usually the absolute minumum needed to keep prices down. (Generic drugs do not get onto that WalMart $4/month list until there are at least three manufacturers.)
This merger leaves just two major companies in the business, with Sprint a distant third. This is reason enough for regulators to turn down the deal, I am hoping.
Note that after this deal, the three companies America Movil (Tracfone, Net10, StraightTalk) can realistically ask to come in with bids (Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile) are now just two. I wonder if this isn't a move to reign in StraightTalk, the main US provider of low-cost, decent-quality, cell phone service.
It also could increase the cost of internet service built into the price of the Kindle 3G.
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