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  3. Telecom:The Merger Is the Message Last year ended with a bang in telecom. During the final three months, Cingular closed its

Telecom:The Merger Is the Message Last year ended with a bang in telecom. During the final three months, Cingular closed its

admin2013-07-11  81
问题                     Telecom:The Merger Is the Message
    Last year ended with a bang in telecom. During the final three months, Cingular closed its $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless, and Sprint announced a $ 35 billion mega merger with Nextel Communications. At a time when interest in traditional telecom companies is as rare as rotary phones, mergers are a sign of the profound changes underway. " These kinds of deals create enormous opportunities to rethink the whole telecom sector," says Francis Mclnerney, managing director of consultant North River Ventures LLC.
    By bulking up, companies are sparking innovations that will transform communication. More and more, mobile phones will be used to exchange e-mail, music clips, and even video. Likewise, Internet technology will replace old fashioned phone gear, ushering in an era of souped-up services. Consumers will get voice mail on their PCs and all-you-can-eat phone service for tinder $ 25 a month, while businesses hand out mobile phones to road warriors so they can receive calls and e-mail just as if they were in the office.
    The distinctions among industries will get blurred, too. Telecom giants Verizon Communications Inc. and SBC will pursue licenses to market cable TV. AT&T plans to market security software to corporate customers. Comcast and other cable players are barreling into residential phone markets, and even sports power ESPN expects to unveil hip mobile phone offerings.
    Competition in those markets will grow even keener. Comcast Corp. is leading an association of cable operators that is exploring ways to break into wireless services. There’s a strategic reason for the move. The cable companies are offering home phone service with Internet protocol technology, but without a mobile offering, they lack an essential element of the telecom bundle. The cable companies are trying to work out a partnership with Sprint Nextel or possibly T-Mobile USA to sell consumers a dual-mode phone that would handle their IP calling service inside the house and switch to cellular systems outside. AT&T will unveil a similar service this year.
    The competition may spark more consolidation. Cable companies could consider acquiring a wireless company if the partnership approach fails. While SBC and BellSouth Corp. are focused on helping combine AT&T Wireless with Cingular, which SBC and BellSouth co-own, SBC might not be finished. CEO Edward E. Whitacre Jr. has made no secret of his desire to own Cingular outright. "Of course I wish I owned it all," he told BusinessWeek in October. That could happen by his buying BellSouth’s stake in Cingular or buying BellSouth itself. BellSouth says it’s not interested in being acquired and doubts that regulators would approve such a deal anyway.
    The battle among providers means lower prices, too. Consider the impact of tiny Vonage Holdings Corp. By using voice over Internet protocol to offer inexpensive phone service, Vonage, unknown a year ago, is now the fastest-growing U.S. phone company. But Vonage has competition from some unlikely quarters. AT&T has entered in a price war with the upstart, resulting in each lowering prices a couple of times before bottoming out at less than $ 25 a month.
The word "upstart" (Line 9, Para. 6) most probably means someone who______.
选项 A、has suddenly risen to a higher economic or social status
B、lacks the skills appropriate for a new and high position
C、has not gained acceptance of others in the field
D、has competed by using improper actions
答案A
解析 本题考查根据上下文推测词义，第六段主要描述沃那日控股公司的情况。该段末句指出，美国电报电话无线公司已经开始与这个“upstart”展开价格战。因此该单词指的就是沃那日公司。根据第六段中的描述可知，沃那日公司一年之内从不知名的公司变为发展最快的电话公司，[A]与此意相符，为正确项。
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