As AT&T pushes its takeover of BellSouth, the company continues to decry the myth of “cable monopolies.” Ironic considering AT&T’s massive $67-billion proposed marriage would create a national powerhouse combining the remnants of four of the seven regional telephone companies carved out of Ma Bell in 1984, when the government moved to break up a true monopoly.

So, while cable companies like Cox operate locally, serve customers locally, hire locally and contribute to local economies, the RBOC children are uniting to create another centralized national behemoth. They’ve already admitted the AT&T/BellSouth union will cost more than 10,000 local jobs—and that’s on top of an additional 26,000 local jobs eliminated when SBC acquired AT&T last year (and later assumed the AT&T brand), and through other “operational initiatives.” That doesn’t seem to bode well for true localism.

We’re sure the government will scrutinize this one diligently. There definitely will be dozens of issues to carefully consider to ensure consumer protection and a level playing field for service providers. Competition is a good thing for all when it’s a good thing for consumers. But whether this massive merger will truly be a good thing is a question impossible to answer right now. That answer will have to be sorted through over time, in the best interests of consumers, and by relying on far more than the RBOCs’ well-worn, self-serving talking points.