Time Warner and Verizon begin selling bundled packages just to annoy regulators

Verizon's special relationship with the cable houses deepened yesterday as it started to sell bundled mobile and land-line packages with Time Warner Cable, like it does with Comcast. Residents in various parts of Ohio, Kansas City and Raleigh, North Carolina can sign up and receive a $200 prepaid debit card as a reward for their custom. However, the partnership is raising regulatory concerns about Big Red's business practices, with the Justice Department weighing up if they're anti-competitive. Worse still, the FCC has yet to ratify that $3.6 billion spectrum deal, meaning that both parties could still be off to the tailors to be fitted for a federal lawsuit.