Verizon, T-Mobile to testify on wireless competition

Executives from Verizon and T-Mobile will testify on competition in the wireless market in front of a Senate panel next week.

{mosads}Verizon Executive Vice President Randal Milch and T-Mobile Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Thomas Sugrue will appear at a hearing being held by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition and Consumer Rights, the Judiciary Committee announced Thursday.

The hearing is titled “An Examination of Competition in the Wireless Market” and will also include Eric Graham, senior vice president of strategic relations at Cellular South — or C Spire, the eighth largest wireless company in the country — and Jonathan Spalter, chairman of Mobile Future, a coalition of wireless companies and advocacy groups.

Late last year, reports surfaced that Sprint is considering a bid to buy T-Mobile, which would combine the third and fourth largest wireless companies in the country.

Those opposing the hypothetical deal say it would decrease competition in the wireless market, while advocates say it would allow the companies to better compete against Verizon and AT&T, which control significantly larger parts of the U.S. wireless market.

The hearing on competition in the wireless market will take place on Feb. 26 at 10 a.m. and will be webcast on the Committee’s site.