Verizon’s big red flag seems to be transforming into one of revolt, as the carrier has chosen to follow up its recent Net Neutrality suit against the FCC with another one. This time, the Federal Communications Commission’s new data roaming rules are in the carrier’s crosshairs, as the new regulation would benefit regional carriers and their customers while doing virtually nothing to benefit the nation’s largest wireless provider.
Just like the carrier did during the Net Neutrality case, Verizon is reportedly arguing that the FCC is not authorized to mandate these rules. The new regulation would let regional carriers like Cellular South and U.S. Cellular offer national data coverage, which is virtually necessary if those carriers want to compete effectively. Especially now that T-Mo may be trading in its pink flag for one that comes in AT&T blue, it is more important than ever that regional carriers put up a fight, as soon-to-be last place Sprint may not have the chops to compete against Verizon and AT&T’s collective 80 percent market share.
Voice roaming rules have already been established by the FCC, but as data becomes almost equally important to on-the-go consumers, the ruling of this case could either make or break smaller, regional carriers in the U.S. If Verizon does succeed in blocking the ruling, it would leave the struggling Sprint as the sole obstacle to our country’s future wireless duopoly. Yikes!
[via Mobiledia]