Verizon (NYSE:VZ) and its new cable allies are gearing up to defend their spectrum transactions and related business deals during a Senate hearing scheduled for this afternoon titled "The Verizon/Cable Deals: Harmless Collaboration or a Threat to Competition and Consumers?" Under the transactions, Verizon will purchase AWS spectrum from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Cox Communications, and the cable companies and Verizon will resell each other's offerings. According to testimony filed ahead of the proceeding, Verizon and the cable companies will argue their arrangments won't affect market competition, or raise prices for consumers. On the opposite side of that argument are public interest groups, smaller carriers and labor unions that contend the transactions will result in fewer choices for consumers and an unfair advantage for Verizon and its cable partners. Article. Watch the webcast of the event here, which starts at 2 p.m. EST.