Sen. Kohl plans hearing on Verizon cable deal

Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, said Wednesday he will hold a hearing on Verizon’s $3.6 billion deal to buy wireless airwave licenses from a group of cable companies.  

The deal also includes a marketing agreement between Verizon and the cable companies, which include Comcast and Time Warner, to cross-sell one another’s products. 

Kohl said plans for the hearing are “well under way,” but he did not announce a date for the hearing or a list of witnesses.

“The subcommittee carefully examines questions about competition in the wireless and video markets, with the ultimate goal of protecting consumers and reducing their cable and cell phone bills, and these deals are no exception,” he said in a news release.

The Justice Department’s antitrust division is also probing whether the deal would hurt competition.

Harold Feld, legal director of consumer group Public Knowledge, said he is pleased the Senate will hold a hearing, and added that the deal raises “serious concerns.”

“Even without the agreements between Verizon, Comcast, and the other cable operators to resell each other’s services, this transaction would raise serious concerns about spectrum aggregation and the future [of] wireless competition,” Feld said in a news release. “But when, in addition, competitors become resellers of each other’s services, those charged with protecting consumers and promoting competition have a duty to take a very careful look.”

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