经济学人:美国移动通讯业-联姻大胆,反响不佳

 　　Mobile telecoms in America美国移动通讯业

　　An audacious merger¹ with a poor reception（注1）联姻大胆，反响不佳

　　AT&T’s ambitious bid to reshape America’s wireless² market has spooked rivals. But it faces significant hurdles³

　　AT&T的竞标雄心勃勃，意在重塑美国无线通讯市场，竞争对手惊慌失措。但并购也面临重大阻碍

　　PEOPLE who enjoy poking⁴ fun at the patchy quality of AT&T’s mobile-phone network in America were provided with some fresh comedy material this week. “So, AT&T and T-Mobile are getting married. You’re all invited. But there will be no reception afterwards,” tweeted one wag after news emerged on March 20th that AT&T had bid a breathtaking $39 billion for T-Mobile USA, a smaller wireless operator owned by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom.

　　在美国，AT&T移动电话网络质量不稳常遭人取笑，那些以此为乐的人，本周有了新鲜笑料。3月20日，AT&T以390亿美元的惊人出价，竞购德国Deutsche Telekom公司旗下的小型无线通讯运营商T-Mobile USA，新闻曝光后，一条段子在Twitter上风传：“于是，AT&T跟T-Mobile喜结良缘。人人获邀出席。但之后却无人设宴，也无人赴宴。”

　　Amusing as this is, the deal itself is no laughing matter. On the contrary, the proposed merger, which needs the approval of antitrust and telecoms regulators, has sparked a good deal of controversy⁵ over whether it will be good or bad for American consumers. Some members of Congress have called for a thorough review of the transaction and consumer groups have been quick to condemn⁶ it.

　　段子很有趣，但交易本身却非笑料。相反，这桩须获反垄断机构及通讯监管机构批准的并购提案，引发了多场论战，争论此次交易对美国消费者是利是弊。一些国会议员呼吁全面评估这桩交易，而多个消费者团体迅速予以谴责。

　　Their concern is hardly surprising. America’s four largest mobile-phone operators—AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA and Sprint⁷ Nextel—already account for 82% of the national market. Assuming the transaction goes ahead as planned, AT&T would add T-Mobile’s 34m customers to the 96m that it had at the end of 2010, propelling it well ahead of Verizon, its main rival.

　　他们如此关注，并不足为奇。美国四大移动电话运营商——AT&T、Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA及Sprint Nextel，已占全美无线通讯市场的82%。去年底，AT&T用户达9600万，倘若交易如期进行，T-Mobile的3400万用户也收归帐下，AT&T就将大大领先其主要竞争对手Verizon。

　　Critics of the deal, which AT&T hopes to complete within 12 months, say it will undermine efforts made many years ago to inject more competition into America’s telecoms industry. In the mid-1970s the government started investigating AT&T’s dominant⁸ position in fixed-line telephones, which led to the break up in 1984 of “Ma Bell” into eight pieces. Could the bid for T-Mobile be a sign that monopoly Ma is trying to return from her grave?

　　AT&T希望此事一年搞定，但批评人士称，这将破坏多年前为促进美国通讯业竞争而作出的种种努力。上世纪七十年代中期，政府开始调查AT&T在固定电话业务上的主导地位，导致“贝尔大妈”在1984年被大卸八块。而今年这起竞购，会成为“大妈”试图起死回生的一个标志吗？

　　AT&T maintains that its deal will not be anticompetitive, even though it will leave it and Verizon with a combined 70% share of the American market, up from 58%. It points out that the average inflation-adjusted price for wireless services in America fell by 50% from 1999 to 2009 according to the Government Accountability Office, an arm of Congress, even though there were several large mergers⁹ involving mobile-phone companies during that period. The company also argues that many local markets in America still have five or more mobile-phone firms pitching for customers’ business, so taking T-Mobile out of the mix should not dent¹⁰ competition.

　　交易达成后，AT&T与Verizon在美市场总份额，将从58%提升至70%，即便如此，AT&T仍坚称这笔交易并不反竞争。它指出，根据国会下属机构“美国审计总署”的数据，1999~2009年期间，即使有好几起移动电话企业大并购，美国无线通讯服务经过通胀调整后的均价，还是下跌了一半。AT&T也表明，美国众多本地市场，仍有超过五家移动电话公司，竞价提供客户业务，因此从这场混战中带走T-Mobile，应不致破坏竞争。

　　Fans of the deal reckon such arguments should be enough to convince regulators. Hal Singer of Navigant Economics, a consulting firm, notes that although T-Mobile’s prices are low, it has been losing subscribers rapidly, which suggests that it is hardly an effective check on AT&T. That may explain why Deutsche Telekom is so keen to say auf Wiedersehen to its American wireless business.

　　支持交易的人认为，上述理由足以说服监管机构。咨询公司Navigant Economics的Hal Singer注意到，尽管T-Mobile的服务价格低廉，订户却一直迅速流失，表明对AT&T的攻势难以阻遏。这可以解释，Deutsche Telekom何以如此热衷向其美国无线通讯业务道“再见”。

　　However, an antitrust expert says that exclusive, nationwide device deals such as the one AT&T struck with Apple in 2007 for distribution of the latter’s iPhone could encourage regulators to take a far broader view of the market than they have done in the past, not least because in smartphones, the near-duopoly of AT&T and Verizon will be so much stronger.

　　然而，一位反垄断专家称，几起全国性设备专营交易，如AT&T在2007年与苹果就独家销售iPhone达成协议，可能促使监管机构以较以往更长远的眼光，审视该市场，尤其因为智能电话市场上，AT&T与Verizon几近两家独大，监管机构若不行动，该局面会愈加铁板一块。

　　At an industry conference this week, Dan Hesse, the boss of Sprint Nextel, gave warning that allowing AT&T to walk off with T-Mobile would leave “too much power…in the hands of two”. The Computer & Communications Industry Association, whose members include firms such as Google and Facebook, echoed that sentiment. In a statement on March 22nd it said that the proposed deal “may be the most aggressive and anti-consumer merger proposal in history.”

　　本周，在一场业界会议上，Sprint Nextel老板Dan Hesse警告，允许AT&T带走T-Mobile，会导致“两者掌握的力量过多”。“计算机与通信产业联盟”也附和此观点。其成员包括Google跟Facebook之类的企业。3月22日，该联盟发表了一份声明，称这桩交易提案“可能是史上最咄咄逼人又反消费者的并购提议。”

　　AT&T’s plan could also hit another snag. In several previous mergers between mobile-phone companies regulators have required the merging¹¹ businesses to sell wireless spectrum¹², network infrastructure¹³ and other assets in some local markets to win their approval. This has allowed smaller competitors such as US Cellular¹⁴ and MetroPCS to snap up the assets, turning them into stronger rivals in those areas. AT&T has made it clear it is willing to do the same thing to get a green light for its deal. But given the great clout¹⁵ the new entity¹⁶ would have, regulators may conclude that even a large number of disposals would not guarantee robust¹⁷ competition in some areas.

　　AT&T的计划可能会碰到另一个难题。此前几宗移动电话公司并购案，监管机构都要求合并企业在某些当地市场卖掉无线频谱、网络基础设施及其他资产，以获准并购。小竞争者如US Cellular和MetroPCS得以抢购这些资产，在这些地区壮大。AT&T清楚表示，只要交易获准，它也会照做。不过，鉴于此次并购产生的新实体影响甚巨，监管机构可能断定：就算并购企业大规模出售资产，也无法保证某些地区竞争机制健全，因而不予批准。

　　An annual report on the state of America’s wireless industry published last year by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which along with the Department of Justice must approve AT&T’s bid, shows that regulators were already concerned about the state of competition in mobile telephony before this week’s news. Having previously¹⁸ affirmed, year after year, that the industry was “effectively competitive”, it declined to do so, though it made no specific recommendations on how to improve matters.

　　AT&T的竞购须得联邦通信委员会（FCC）与美国司法部核准才可进行。而去年，FCC发布了一份《美国无线通讯产业状况年度报告》，表明本周联姻消息爆出前，监管机构已对移动电话产业竞争状况忧心忡忡。此前，FCC年复一年都证实该产业存在“有效竞争”，而今却不肯这么说，尽管它对如何改进问题也无确切建议。

　　Wrapped in the flag假爱国真谋私

　　All this explains why AT&T has been doing its best to drape its deal in the Stars and Stripes. Among other things, it argues that T-Mobile’s subscribers will be able to benefit from its investment in a new, fourth-generation (4G) high-speed wireless broadband network, which will further the Obama administration’s goal of creating a connected population. (Deutsche Telekom was supposedly unwilling¹⁹ to make a similar investment in its infrastructure.) AT&T also trumpets²⁰ the fact that its deal would transform T-Mobile from a foreign-owned outfit²¹ into an American one.

　　上述这一切说明了，AT&T为何一直在千方百计让这笔其实为了它自个的交易，也看似对美国有利。方式包括，它表示正在部署一种新的4G高速无线宽带网，将会促使奥巴马政府打造互联人群的目标更进一步，而T-Mobile的订户亦会从中受益。而据信，Deutsche Telekom并不愿进行同样的基础设施投资。AT&T还大肆鼓吹一个事实，那就是这笔交易可能会让T-Mobile从外企变为美企。

　　But nationalistic considerations should not be allowed to obscure the underlying²² impact that the proposed deal would have on consumers. Indeed, America’s politicians and regulators would do well to look at other countries’ experience before reaching a decision on AT&T’s bid.

　　不过，所谓爱国的理由，不应当拿来掩盖交易提案可能对用户造成的潜在冲击。其实，美国的政客及监管机构在决定AT&T的竞购前，应当借鉴他国的经验。

　　Canada provides a cautionary tale. There, three big companies, TELUS, Bell Mobility²³ and Rogers Communications, were together allowed to gain control of almost 95% of the wireless market. Amid complaints about high call rates (among the rich world’s priciest) and a lack of innovation, the government used a spectrum auction²⁴ in 2008 to create a raft of new players. But these have largely struggled against the industry’s behemoths.

　　加拿大的故事可资警醒。该国三大巨头——TELUS, Bell Mobility及Rogers Communications，获准联手掌控了加国95%的无线通讯市场。加拿大话费高昂，全球最贵，且缺乏创新，民众对此抱怨连连，对此，2008年，加政府利用频谱拍卖方式来产生新玩家。不过这些企业应对该国垄断巨头竞争，大多要苦苦挣扎。

　　British regulators are taking steps to avoid a similar fate. On March 22nd the country’s telecoms regulator said it would auction a chunk²⁵ of radio spectrum next year for 4G services. And it said it wanted to manage the auction so as to ensure the country will have at least four national mobile-phone operators capable of providing consumers with higher-quality wireless data services.

　　英国监管机构正采取措施避免重蹈覆辙。3月22日，该国通讯监管机构称，明年可能拍卖大量无线电频谱用于4G服务，且称要监管此次拍卖，以确保该国至少有四家全国性移动电话运营商，能为用户提供高质量无线数据服务。

　　Thanks to AT&T’s move this week, American regulators will now have to decide how best to defend the interests of consumers there. Mobile-phone users will be hoping that they dial C for choice rather than D for duopoly.

　　幸亏AT&T本周行动了，美国监管机构现在必须决定，如何最大程度捍卫美国用户利益。移动电话用户希望拨“C”自己选择，而非拨“D”，让无线通讯市场两家独大。

　　注1：An audacious merger with a poor reception

　　audacious merger 与poor reception都语带双关。

　　audacious merger的merger表面指AT&T针对T-Mobile的bid，又呼应AT&T and T-Mobile are getting married这句，俏皮地将其比喻为联姻。

　　而audacious则指390亿美元的惊人出价，同时指此次并购faces significant hurdles，并且 has sparked a good deal of controversy。

　　poor reception一方面指AT&T的并购交易引发各方质疑，不受欢迎，一方面又呼应the patchy quality of AT&T’s mobile-phone network in America这句，暗指AT&T的移动电话网络信号接收不良。

1 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

2 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

3 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

4 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

5 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

6 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

7 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

8 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

9 mergers   

n.（两个公司的）合并( merger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种：横向合并，纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
• Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务，在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

10 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。

11 merging   

合并（分类）

参考例句：

• Many companies continued to grow by merging with or buying competing firms. 许多公司通过合并或收买竞争对手的公司而不断扩大。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• To sequence by repeated splitting and merging. 用反复分开和合并的方法进行的排序。

12 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

13 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

14 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

15 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

16 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

17 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

18 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

19 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

20 trumpets   

喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花

参考例句：

• A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

21 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

22 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

23 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

24 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

25 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。