Blocking AT&T, T-Mobile Merger Keeps Young Latinos Online

By Amalia Deloney, Center for Media Justice

For many of us, the days before search engines, social networking and constant wireless access to information and entertainment seem like a lifetime ago. But for those young adults about to start their first year of college, that is literally the case.

The incoming class of 2016—largely born in 1993—has never lived in a world without the Internet.

This is a generation that has integrated constant access to the Internet into every aspect of their lives. And according to a recent study by The Newspaper Association of America Foundation, they are increasingly connecting to the Internet through their smartphones, replacing televisions, desktop and laptop computers and other devices as the primary provider of information among 16-20 year olds.

In a world where access to the Internet increasingly means access to opportunity, nothing could be more important than ensuring that young people can get online cheaply and stay connected. The need for wireless access is especially clear for young people of color and people from low-income communities, who are more likely to rely on their cell phones as their only means of accessing the Internet.

Given that, the proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile should raise significant concerns for young people and those who are interested in protecting access to information for all. Currently T-Mobile plans cost $15 to $50 less per month than comparable plans from AT&T. If this merger is approved, new subscribers will no longer have access to this lower cost option and 80 percent of the wireless market will be controlled by just two corporations: AT&T and Verizon. The reduced competition is likely to result in higher prices for consumers. This is particularly bad news for students who are struggling to get by in an economy with high unemployment, tight family budgets and rising tuition costs.

Fortunately, yesterday the Department of Justice filed an anti-trust lawsuit to block AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile. Among their top concerns: less competition for mobile wireless telecommunications services, higher prices, reduced quality and fewer choices for the millions of Americans who rely on mobile wireless services in their everyday lives.

Blocking this merger is a major victory for communities of color, rural communities and America’s poor. The Justice Department has taken seriously our real concerns about higher prices, fewer choices and massive job loss.  This is the best possible end to our August Month of Action Against the Merger.  The people spoke, and the Justice Department listened. And, hopefully, as the school year begins we can all feel like the future of Internet access for young adults, and for all consumers really, will be a little more accessible.