Justice Dept to order changes in Verizon deals

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Justice Department announced Thursday it will order changes to protect consumers in deals between Verizon and four of the nation's largest cable companies.

If left unchanged, the department says, the agreements would harm competition by reducing incentives to compete ? resulting in higher prices and lower quality for the public.

Late last year, Verizon Wireless announced deals to buy spectrum from Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc., Bright House Networks and Cox Communications. The deals call for the companies to market each other's products in their stores.

The Justice Department says it will limit the scope and duration of the agreements. While the government will allow Verizon's proposed acquisition of spectrum from the cable companies to go forward, it says the acquisition will be contingent on the purchase of a significant portion of that spectrum by a competitor, T-Mobile USA.

The government's announcement follows a coordinated investigation with the Federal Communications Commission and assistance from the New York state attorney general's office.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/justice-dept-order-changes-verizon-deals-143614737.html

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