Submission + - Obama has an offer that AT&T can't refuse. (washingtonexaminer.com) 1
Regulators routinely have to sign off on such mega-deals. At least in theory, they do so in the interest of protecting the freedom of the marketplace from monopolistic practices.
But in this case, the regulators are not protecting consumers — instead, the Washington Post reported last week, the Federal Communications Commission appears to be using this deal as a bargaining chip to buy off one of the larger and better-funded sources of opposition to its Democratic commissioners' net neutrality agenda.
Essentially, it appears that AT&T will get its deal as long as it agrees to stop resisting and accept the FCC's restrictions on its Internet service. It's a quid pro quo in which the regulators make trades to increase their own power instead of protecting consumers.