Verizon Eats Itself (And Why It Matters)

[Commentary] Prior to the Verizon buyout of Vodafone, shared ownership of Verizon Wireless meant Verizon couldn't fully claim its cash and profit. Now Verizon can. Owning Verizon Wireless will mean much higher cash flows for Verizon. But if margins fall and growth falters, $130 billion could look like a very high price indeed. Many question if the US wireless market – with its slowed growth and ramped up competition – may have already peaked. Verizon is betting the answer is no; Vodafone, on the other hand, seems to believe that the value of its stake did not have much further to rise. The next step in realizing Verizon’s vision, whatever it is, is gaining regulatory approval for the deal. Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld said we should think of this FCC review “as more like a change of address notification than as a full on application” since Verizon already controlled the wireless company.