AT&T isn't the only major player facing a direct limitation on its ability to grow much bigger in its core markets. Google might be next. Google CEO Eric Schmidt will face a U.S. Senate hearing on Sept. 21, 2011 looking at whether the company is now so large and dominant that it now constitutes a monopoly.The primary issue in this hearing is whether Google gives preference to its own websites or products in search results. History suggests Google might be a turning point of sorts.
In March 1998, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates faced a similar hearing. Two months later Microsoft was served with an antitrust suit, the effects of which only fully ended in 2010, some would argue. That's more than a decade of handcuffs.
A rational observer with a sense of history might wonder when it will be Apple's turn to meet the regulatory buzzsaw. Sooner or later, big and powerful technology and application companies run into the reality of government regulation. Telcos just are more used to it.
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