The Total Witch Hunt Around AT&T’s Power Grab

AT&T, the No. 2 wireless carrier in the U.S., and its larger rival Verizon Communications Inc. are reportedly under investigation by U.S. antitrust officials over whether the companies colluded to make it harder for customers to switch carriers. The Justice Department is looking into whether there’s been coordination by the two companies and GSMA, an industry standards-setting group, to thwart this technology. The investigation comes as the Justice Department’s antitrust division also attempts to block AT&T’s $109 billion takeover of Time Warner on the grounds that AT&T could then collude with Comcast Corp., the cable giant that owns NBCUniversal, to control the pay-TV market, thus hurting competition and resulting in higher prices for consumers.