If anyone can kill the technology boom it is Verizon and AT&T.

Even Google can’t compete with them.

This from Ben Thompson today:

To be sure, broadband is its own special case: its provision tends towards monopoly because the costs to build the last mile especially are so extraordinary, particularly in the face of competitors who are able to decrease prices to their marginal cost thanks to fully depreciated assets. Phones aren’t an easy market by any means, but meaningful marketshare is at least possible if Google has the patience and determination to invest for the long run. I’m not yet convinced they do.

Verizon and AT&T have a monopoly in the most important business sector of the American economy (my opinion).

Not only can’t the best brains, cash rich, risk taking companies compete, but we are letting the monopolies spend their ill gotten profits on other industries.

Yuck.

From the perspective of a stock picker…who cares. Avoid Verizon and AT&T and buy content companies that will be targets of them in this new era.

From the perspective of the consumer and small business it’s a massive loss.

Eventually this will slow down if not crash our technology boom.