The AT&T/T-Mobile USA takeover and its implications for consolidation of mobile markets

摘要

As noted in previous "Rearviews", the consolidation of national mobile markets has been an ongoing theme involving periodic battles between market forces and regulatory bodies. By and large, the desireecessity to scale-up has been the primary driving force and the number of networks in advanced countries of any size has been reduced to three or four although, as in the recent case of Switzerland, there are increasing signs that lines are being drawn in the sand by regulators to prevent further shrinkage.