Easy as flicking finger

FELLOW READER Benjamin Agunod failed to mention in his letter (Inquirer, 6/7/11) that the only real oppositionist to the acquisition by AT&T of rival carrier T-Mobile USA is Sprint, the third largest telecom company in the United States.

But I perfectly understand the reason for the omission. For had Agunod mentioned Sprint, then his premise that the AT&T-Mobile USA merger would lead to a monopoly would crumble.

In the same vein, in our country no monopoly can ensue from the PLDT-Digitel deal because of the presence of Globe and other fast-emerging competitors that take advantage of new technologies like voice-over Internet protocol (VOIPs) and Internet-based chat facilities.

Contrary to Globe’s claim, a merged PLDT and Digitel cannot really dictate prices because consumers can easily migrate to Globe because, for one, most mobile and wireless Internet users in the country are using prepaid accounts. With cellphone and Internet SIM cards selling for as low as P25 apiece, changing from one network to another is as simple as flicking one’s finger. So no matter how big a telco becomes, it cannot price itself out of the market.

And there’s one more thing that Agunod failed to mention. That is that Sprint also tried to acquire T-Mobile USA but lost out to AT&T.

Sounds familiar, isn’t it? Isn’t it a fact that Globe is now making noises against the PLDT-Digitel deal after Globe tried but failed to buy Digitel too? Why is it okay for Globe to buy Digitel and not for PLDT to acquire Digitel?

—LAURENCE GALOMA,

[email protected]