Not really a new trend, but still one that I find disturbing. Hot on the heels of SBC's "merger with AT&T":http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000733029998/ comes news today that Verizon is going to snap up MCI. They needed to do something to prove that they were a player, and although some people thought they might go after one of the bigger companies (i.e. Cingular or Nextel), this merger makes headlines without making a huge dent in Verizon's cash. I wonder if this is just a merger for merger's sake, tho. MCI is a troubled company, and they are inheriting a bureaucratic nightmare ("60 billing systems?":http://news.com.com/Verizon+to+buy+MCI+for+5.3+billion/2100-1036_3-5574860.html) Also, I wonder why Verizon's bid which was $.5 billion less than Qwest's was accepted... not like MCI is going to care about Qwest's "financial scruples":http://money.cnn.com/2002/06/26/news/companies/qwest/, right? Consolidation, especially with telcos, makes me nervous. I have "enough trouble":http://feralboy.com/log/archives/001356/ as it is with phone companies, and I still technically have choices for my provider. Wasn't the Ma Bell breakup done specifically to avoid the type of consolidation and lack of choice that we're heading towards?

In other merger news, Blockbuster is "again":http://www.hackingnetflix.com/netflix/2004/12/blockbuster_con.html making a hostile "takeover":http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/03/news/midcaps/hollywood.reut/ play for Hollywood Video. While I've been a satisfied "Netflix":http://netflix.com/ customer for years, the thought that there would only be "Netflix, Blockbuster and Wal-Mart":http://www.hackingnetflix.com/netflix/2005/01/reporter_tests_.html (both of which are gunning for Netflix in the worst way) as the 3 major players makes me worry about their future.