Amazon in Talks to Offer Mobile Service to Prime Members with Major Carriers

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. dropped to a 12-year low after Bloomberg reported that Amazon.com Inc. was in talks with the company and other wireless carriers about offering services, possibly for free, to Prime members. Amazon has been negotiating with Verizon, T-Mobile, Dish, and AT&T for the past six to eight weeks to get the lowest wholesale prices, allowing Amazon to offer its Prime subscribers wireless plans for $10 a month or possibly free. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile shares ranked 1-2-3 on the list of the S&P 500 index’s biggest decliners Friday, while Dish’s stock soared 17.2% to pace the S&P 500’s gainers.