Why Do So Many Groups Support the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger?

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission has now received more than 10,000 public comments about the AT&T/T-Mobile merger, and they're falling into two main buckets: individuals opposing the merger (many with auto-generated robo-comments from consumer advocacy Web sites), and groups or organizations supporting it. Among supporters, most said the merger will lead to more high-speed Internet access nationwide, but we're getting more high-speed Internet access anyway; Verizon seems to announce new 4G cities daily, and T-Mobile has already described plans to light up 55 cities with LTE-like speeds this summer. So Segan looked for reasons beyond merely "there will be more 4G."

• Unions: AT&T's supporter list includes a roll-call of labor groups from the AFL-CIO to Unite Here. They're unified with a simple message: AT&T workers belong to a union, while T-Mobile has busted unions. So AT&T ownership would be better for workers than T-Mobile's current management.
• Free Marketers: Organizations that generally oppose government regulation, like chambers of commerce, are lining up in support of the merger.
• Ethnic Groups: The AT&T/T-Mobile merger is supported by a genuinely bizarre array of ethnic-related organizations. The California Journal for Filipino Americans, the National (Black) Medical Association, and the Filipino American Arts Exposition don't seem like the kinds of groups who'd have opinions on wireless issues, but here they are.
• The Coverage Argument: Rural groups seem to be supportive of anything that will improve wireless coverage in rural areas.
• AT&T Relatives: AT&T is a big company with its fingers in a lot of pies. I didn't find any real evidence of "astroturfing" going on -- nobody told me their letter had been solicited by AT&T. But when Segan called Sam Duran at the Urban Corps of San Diego County, he readily admitted that his focus is on job training and conservation programs in the San Diego area -- not on wireless. Then Segan noticed that one of the board members for his organization is Christine Moore, AT&T's director of external affairs.