Database Users

[Unrelated] AT&T to buy T-Mobile USA

Looks like #2 and #4 are going to merge. I guess the talk that Sprint might buyout T-Mobile didn't pan out. Looks like they will discontinue those ads where they make fun of AT&T's network.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fiw-att-deutsche-telecom-20110320,0,1733883.story

What does this mean for us?

This is the worst news I've ever heard lol

Jayavarman said:
What does this mean for us?
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nothing short term, but this could change the face of the u.s. wireless indusry.
also, already being discussed.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=12242001#post12242001

I definitely think the FCC will prevent it from happening, it would create a GSM monopoly in the US.

why would it matter if it was a gsm monopoly? there are still other carriers regardless, so i dont see it as being a monopoly. you can still buy gsm devices from anywhere and pop yuour sim card in and go if thats what the big deal about gsm is all about.

The problem with a GSM monopoly (or any monopoly really) is that it prevents competition, for instance people who travel frequently and therefore need a GSM handset are left with only one real option (sure there are Verizon and Sprint world phones but that is besides the point)

I blame T-Mobile Girl.

063_XOBX said:
The problem with a GSM monopoly (or any monopoly really) is that it prevents competition, for instance people who travel frequently and therefore need a GSM handset are left with only one real option (sure there are Verizon and Sprint world phones but that is besides the point)
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how does only having one gsm provider in the us prevent competition? there are still several other cell providers in the u.s. the reason you state one needs a gsm handset would be to be able to use it while traveling (im assuming you mean abroad) where you would use a local sim card any way. if your using att's minutes to talk over seas, you can do that with sprint and verizon too. they all have international roaming. not being able to use a phone overseas is not related at all to being a monopoly.

austin420 said:
how does only having one gsm provider in the us prevent competition? there are still several other cell providers in the u.s. the reason you state one needs a gsm handset would be to be able to use it while traveling (im assuming you mean abroad) where you would use a local sim card any way. if your using att's minutes to talk over seas, you can do that with sprint and verizon too. they all have international roaming. not being able to use a phone overseas is not related at all to being a monopoly.
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He's talking about in the broad sense. You had a choice in between AT&T and Tmobile which didn't have the best phones but had fair prices. Now that they're merged people are stuck with the high priced cheap phones without anyother choice for GSM carriers.
Sent From my CyanogenEpicMod 7G

This smells of a monopoly. 3 real major wireless carriers left in the US. It would be like the oil industry. They dont have to buy each other up. They can raise the prices on everyone now and who you going to complain to. They can also slow progress on any new developments in the wireless phone industry. Has anyone given this any thought. Just look at the history of all industry in the United States. There have been monopolies and just a couple of companies left in this country. They always do what they wanted to the consumer.

tmobile had cheap phones? odd and and here i thought half their lineup was android... stupid smartphones...

Alright I think finally there are enough threads on this.
Sent from my Incredible with the XDA Premium App.

So who is gonna release Google experience devices now? AT&T? I doubt it.

muyoso said:
So who is gonna release Google experience devices now? AT&T? I doubt it.
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I'm holding out hope Verizon will eventually release even just ONE.
Sent from my Incredible with the XDA Premium App.

This is kinda like Intel and AMD. They're the only two major CPU players left. Now if AMD dies off then we'd all be screwed but I doubt it'll ever happen since AMD always have few aces up their sleeve.
Now AT&T bought out T-Mobile will be the only GSM player in this country but this time it's a little different. Far as FCC and SEC are concerned it's not monopoly. We still have choices of different carriers such as AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. I know the latter two don't offer GSM but it doesn't matter much since GSM will eventually be going away and replaced with new standards in a few short years anyway.
Now with so many ticked off T-Mobile users I wouldn't be surprised they will switch to either Verizon or Sprint soon. So basically AT&T just wasted a pileload of cash for nothing. Great business sense they've made. So instead of spending money on improving their network they just buy out the competiton.
AT&T's way of doing things belong in the dinosaurs age and we all know what happened to that.
Darkk

muyoso said:
So who is gonna release Google experience devices now? AT&T? I doubt it.
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This is where Sprint should step up their game (and many more places) and release a Google dev/experience device.

We are so screwed!!!!
Darkk69 said:
This is kinda like Intel and AMD. They're the only two major CPU players left. Now if AMD dies off then we'd all be screwed but I doubt it'll ever happen since AMD always have few aces up their sleeve.
Now AT&T bought out T-Mobile will be the only GSM player in this country but this time it's a little different. Far as FCC and SEC are concerned it's not monopoly. We still have choices of different carriers such as AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. I know the latter two don't offer GSM but it doesn't matter much since GSM will eventually be going away and replaced with new standards in a few short years anyway.
Now with so many ticked off T-Mobile users I wouldn't be surprised they will switch to either Verizon or Sprint soon. So basically AT&T just wasted a pileload of cash for nothing. Great business sense they've made. So instead of spending money on improving their network they just buy out the competiton.
AT&T's way of doing things belong in the dinosaurs age and we all know what happened to that.
Darkk
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FCC and SEC won't do anything anyways because our government sold the people out along time ago. I don't think they would even stop a Vezion, Sprint and A.T&T merge however improbable that may seem. They would let it happen. This is really bad news. I was hoping to goto T-mobile if sprint started raising there prices. Maybe that is why A.T&T decided to restrict their internet because if people did decide to change carriers they would be stuck with A.T&T. This is a good move for A.T&T and now they can boost they have the fastest 4G network and Sprint will have the slowest 4G network.

Darkk69 said:
Now AT&T bought out T-Mobile will be the only GSM player in this country but this time it's a little different. Far as FCC and SEC are concerned it's not monopoly. We still have choices of different carriers such as AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. I know the latter two don't offer GSM but it doesn't matter much since GSM will eventually be going away and replaced with new standards in a few short years anyway.
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Are you sure about that because I was under the impression that non GSM services were the odd ones out?
Sent from my Incredible with the XDA Premium App.

[Poll] Who's going to bail T-Mo after AT&T gobbles them up

With the announcement of AT&T buying T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom, I am for sure going to switch back to Sprint as soon as I can.
Who's else is going to bail, or are you going to stick out or wait and see what happens?
Please take the poll above, and if you have something to say about this, head over to the already ongoing thread about this merger/buyout.

I for one will probably be sticking with Att/Tmobile. I have to use wifi calling in my apartment, and this will eliminate the need for that. Not to mention they will probably have to grandfather in all plans they acquire for the time being.

WHy would you bail? Once they merge Tmobile and ATT with me sharing the same towers hence HUGE coverage gains on both ends. ATT/Tmobile will pass-up verizon's coverage likely and data coverage will be alot better. It's just ironic alot of the iPhone users have migrated to Verizon for better coverage.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-03-20-att-deal_N.htm

jeffokada81 said:
WHy would you bail? Once they merge Tmobile and ATT with me sharing the same towers hence HUGE coverage gains on both ends. ATT/Tmobile will pass-up verizon's coverage likely and data coverage will be alot better. It's just ironic alot of the iPhone users have migrated to Verizon for better coverage.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-03-20-att-deal_N.htm
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Never had a problem with signal when I was on Sprint before, sure I don't do much traveling, but my area is covered well, and the trip from St. Louis to Nashville that I take a couple of times a year is covered very well also. So I'm not worried about coverage.
What I don't want to deal with is AT&T monopolistic ways. The things that they are doing now is going to cause the government to have to come back in and start regulating again, just as happened in the past with them. Expensive plans, locked down phones, data caps, crappy customer service. Not very customer oriented, but very line-their-own-pockets oriented instead. I can't blame a company for wanting to make money, that's the purpose of a business, but when it increases what they charge and takes away services, then I don't want anything to do with them.

If the merger is eventially aproved (antitrust gov), then I'll just wait & see in about 12 months where we stand.

How does upgrading phones work when you're under a contract with Sprint?
Can you just buy your own phone and activate it?

erikikaz said:
How does upgrading phones work when you're under a contract with Sprint?
Can you just buy your own phone and activate it?
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However you get the phone, weather from Sprint, a private party or another reatailer, you will need to either call Sprint or go to a Sprint store to get the phone activated. If you call, you can't use the phone that your about to upgrade, you'll have to use another phone such as a land line or a friends phone. Sure it's not as convenient as just swapping your SIM card, but still pretty easy, phone call usually only take a few minutes anymore. They instruct you step by step what to enter on the new phone and, in my experience, it's usually working withing minutes. In the case of going to a Sprint store to have them activate it, it's usually working before I get to my car, which is only a minute walk at the store in my area.

I've had all kinds of problems with at%t/Cingular. I'm bailing and going to sprint. Not all the towers will be shared anyway & say goodbye to tethering w/o paying 14.99 and unlimited data plans.
Sure, as long as you dont upgrade or change your plan you will be ok, but it would only be a matter of time until you switch sometime.
I can only hope Google releases the next series of nexus on sprint also. I'd hate to give up my nexus
Sent from my Nexus One

Every news outlet has it wrong......
Read the press Releases people !
Why have all sites gotten the interpretation of the Press Release incorrect???
"T-Mobile USA continues to operate as an independent company."
"T-Mobile USA remains an independent company. The acquisition is expected to be completed in approximately 12 months."
In BOTH cases, the statements are PRESENT tense, not future tense. There is ZERO indication that TMobile WILL BE an independent entity after the acquisition has been completed. Has people's understanding of grammar become THAT incomplete and incorrect that EVERYONE in the news can't differentiate between a statement of PRESENT and one of FUTURE tense ?
Pay attention people. This is nothing but BAD for current TMobile customers.

I have no idea what to do. I was planning on selling my N1 to go the route of either the G2X or some other dual core phone, but now this changes everything.
There is no point in buying a TMO phone now if it'll be without provider support in a year. Even if there is scant support, the value of whatever phone I purchase will drop like a rock by the time the merger nears completion.

The value of phones drop 2 months after you buy them nowadays :/ (ok i'm exaggerating XD).
I only want to know if they will keep both companies type of GSM so I can still buy a phone in the US and use it when I travel to Europe at it's full potential.

Dude !! You stole my mind!
erikikaz said:
I have no idea what to do. I was planning on selling my N1 to go the route of either the G2X or some other dual core phone, but now this changes everything.
There is no point in buying a TMO phone now if it'll be without provider support in a year. Even if there is scant support, the value of whatever phone I purchase will drop like a rock by the time the merger nears completion.
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That is PRECISELY the decision process I was going through......I figured...ok...get the G2X and keep the N1 as a spare.......Now...why the F would I want it ? It's ridiculous.....

galaxys said:
If the merger is eventially aproved (antitrust gov), then I'll just wait & see in about 12 months where we stand.
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My thoughts as well. It will be sometime down the road if we see any changes if it even gets approved. So in the mean time let your contracts run out lol
Sent from my VEGAn-TAB-v1.0.0b5.1.1 using Tapatalk

It's a shame that TMO is being bought out. I've had them for over 7 years and I've loved them. Great service, the best prices, and the best Android devices. I hate AT&T with a passion (I used to work for em so my hatred runs VERY deep). Their network is congested, slow, and under-developed. There is a real lack of Android devices, their prices suck, and there is no unlimited data. My wife and I are checking out Sprint and Verizon right now but Sprint is winning thus far. I'd rather get crappy service from a small company that has good devices with better plans and lower prices than get crappy service from either one of the 2 giants that I'd pay too much for and have a poor selection of phones.

DBBGBA said:
The value of phones drop 2 months after you buy them nowadays :/ (ok i'm exaggerating XD).
I only want to know if they will keep both companies type of GSM so I can still buy a phone in the US and use it when I travel to Europe at it's full potential.
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Nope, all current T-Mobile phones would not get 3G.

Ive had Vzw and at&t for at least 2 years each. Vzw had the best coverage then at&t (in my area) but call one of them and dispute a charge on your bill. Good luck.
I deployed to Iraq, sent at&t a letter stating that I was breaking my contract as per a congressional order. Not only did they not, they charged me for 2 lines which I was never signed up for. After I came back, I found I owed nearly 1500$ in late charges and it had been sent to collections. Call them up and after nearly 30 hours, numerous certified letters sent in and faxed, it took nearly 9 months for it to be removed. Call Tmo service, you get a English speaking representative every time. Screw at&t, and any one believing nothing will change, go ahead and sign up for 2 more years and find out the hard way
Sent from my Nexus One

Im in no rush to figure it out... but ultimately my company will decide. We arent too happy with Tmobile's support for us and might be swapping to Verizon, but that also depends on signal strength at our office (in the mountains). They pay for my phone, so I go along for the ride (although i buy my phones outright so that cost stings).

if tzones keeps working i am in. if not metro pcs

Been with Tmo since Voicstream and I will indeed miss Tmo's support in the coming years. I have ATT for DSL and for the most part is ok comparing it to Verizon Fios back in NY.
I for one will let ATT and Tmo do it's thing. ATT has its towers here as well as Tmo so I think I'll get decent coverage for now. Because of my wife's corp discount, we had to sign up for another 2yr contract about 3 months ago so we'll be grandfathered for a spell. If not, ATT better let us out of any ETF's if we do decide to go elsewhere.
But in the future, we may get a bigger corp discount with conjunction of bundling our dsl and wireless. We'll see.

It just really depends on what types of policies ATT will enforce on former T-Mobile customers and how quickly they switch things over postmerge. I have been a happy T-Mo customer for years and I was just thinking recently how much I enjoy the Nexus One and would probably not need to get a new phone for a long time. However, this clearly changes things.
I think it's highly likely that my grandfathered "perks" from being with T-Mo forever such as my $49.99 two-line family plan, $10/month @Home VOIP landline service, $10/phone web2go unlimited internet, and maybe even my 12% AAA discount will all disappear shortly after the merger is completed. Additionally, I don't tether much but I like having the option built into my N1, and ATT is going after "unauthorized" tethering on their network.
Another thing that concerns me is that I can see the "new" ATT offering some discounts to former T-Mo customers down the road when T-Mo's "old" 3G phones become useless as that spectrum is swiched over to LTE... however, I am sure that will not include N1 customers since we did not buy the phone through T-Mobile.
All in all it will have been a great ride with T-Mobile and I am sad to know that it will likely be ending. I am just going to have to see how things shake out. The increased coverage of ATT+T-Mobile would certainly be welcome, but I am concerned about pricing. I get a work discount through Sprint and they have pretty good coverage in my area - I've just never seriously considered them due to the great deal I've been getting through T-Mo. Sprint has also shown a very strong commitment to Android which I think is a positive. As the merger approaches I will definitely be re-evaluating my options.

AT&T set to aquire T-mobile for $39 billion

I've been a T-Mobile customer for seven or eight years now and have never regretted a moment of it. These people have always gone above and beyond to make me feel like I was worth something to them as a customer and a person. I haven't had to contact them often, but when I did, I always knew I would hang up the phone with a smile on my face. T-Mobile US has one of the best customer service departments in the world in terms of customer satisfaction. If I were planning to commit suicide, I would probably call T-Mobile, since I know they would be able to talk me down.
On the flip side of this is AT&T, with whom I've had some of the worst customer service and just service in general in all of my life. I started out with my first cellular device through Cingular Wireless. I wouldn't say they were the best service (they were far from it), but most of my friends and family were on the network and it was in the early days of the talk for free within the network deals. AT&T came along a few years later and ruined any creditability Cingular Wireless had provided me. When the networks in my area finally were updated to EDGE through AT&T, I immediately began having problems with dropped calls and spastic data rates. Calling to complain about this service garnered me a generic response from them along the lines of "What do you want me to do about it?" The customer should not be the one who suggests that the cellular connection to the tower needs to be reset.
After a full year of waiting out my contract and the remainder of my patience with them, I began searching for an alternative solution. I narrowed down my list to All-Tel and T-Mobile for their outstanding customer service. T-Mobile won me over, since, at the time, I was using my HP iPAQ hw6945 (HTC Sable), and needed a GSM network. Since that day, I have constantly raved about their phenomenal customer service, support and network speed. I was also blown away by their astonishingly competitive pricing.
I am currently paying the same $50 for service that I was when I signed up initially. I have a plan consisting of 1000 minutes a month (unlimited for me), unlimited text, and unlimited data ($30+$10+$10). This data plan also includes tethering for free. I haven't been under a contract with them since the first year I was with them, as it was required. I have never been hassled about updating my terms of service, or anything of the sort. It has been one completely happy ride other than the spotty 3G coverage which has been growing rapidly.
With all of this considered, I must say that I am completely shocked and appalled that the company is being sold off to the only other GSM network in the country with a national footprint: AT&T. Though the transaction isn't completely finalized yet, I see no reason why the FCC would oppose this as the also let Verizon's "Net Neutrality" rules pass, even though they were completely one-sided.
Other than customer service from AT&T (or lack thereof, rather), this also presents yet another problem for the customers of T-Mobile: 4G. We will now be set to move into AT&T's field of using LTE instead of HSPA+ or WiMax for our 4G coverage. For those of you who don't already know, LTE is not the happy trail to the Internet you may think.
The LTE standard was designed with carriers in mind, not consumers. This means that the format allows carriers to control the content they show you. You will begin seeing tiered data plans with access to partial content coming soon as the networks expand. For example, if you decide to get the cheapest data plan, you will not only be limited in maximum data caps, but also certain things like YouTube may be filtered out of your service because you would have to pay extra for it. AT&T and Verizon have already come out and said that this will happen with services like Skype and YouTube. WiMax does none of this as it was intended to be an open format set up with end users in mind. HSPA+ simply doesn't support the concept.
Am I the only one concerned here? I think if this does go through, I'll be booking it over the Sprint. I am not fond of CDMA networks, but it's FAR better than the alternative.
Sources:
Lots of good LTE vs. WiMax links in this thread
AT&T/T-Mobile US acquisition details

AT&T is taking over T- Mobile.

Well said Cajunflavoredbob. I went through similar experiences that you speak of. Like I said in another thread, after AT&T stuck me hard, I vowed never to give them my business again. Now after hearing this news, I will end up eating my own words!
I have the Touch Pro2 (T-mobile brand) and I really like this phone, especially after the modified ROMs here on this site. I have no intention to get another phone. So now I have to wait until this deal gets finalized and then determine if keeping this phone is worth going through the headaches with AT&T all over again.

All plans will be grandfathered. Also better service coverage too, so I don't think it will be so bad. I hope we can use At&t frequency phones on a T-Mobile service.

We have so many threads about this topic.

Androidboy35961 said:
We have so many threads about this topic.
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Care to share which ones? I looked through this forum and hadn't found a single one talking about the acquisition. If I had, then I wouldn't have started this thread. If there are threads about it in other areas of the site, then there isn't much I can do about that as those threads would be in the wrong place. This thread was started to allow open general discussion of the subject. Obviously, if threads you may be referring to are in device specific forums, then not everyone is going to see them.

I don't know much about the world of mergers except I read that this one will take at least 12 months. Is this a done deal? Or is there something sufficiently monopolistic about it that could run into legal troubles?
Jake

jakfish said:
I don't know much about the world of mergers except I read that this one will take at least 12 months. Is this a done deal? Or is there something sufficiently monopolistic about it that could run into legal troubles?
Jake
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The deal could take up to a year to finalize if it is allowed. This acquisition would make AT&T the only nation wide GSM carrier. AT&T is also looking to acquire more radio spectrum from Qualcomm who had those FloTV things for a while that bombed. It still has a lot of red tape to go through, but, honestly, I doubt that it will run into much opposition unfortunately. The other downside to this is that we now know that DT is looking to offload T-Mobile US to the highest bidder. Before this, there was a rumor about Sprint trying to acquire the company. I doubt Sprint can afford the price tag on T-Mobile now that AT&T has set the bar. It is a loose-loose situation for T-Mobile customers. No matter what happens, Big Daddy is still putting up TMoUS for sale. The question now becomes, who will get it in the end?

if this goes through im going to Sprint because i hate AT&T AND dont like the idea of youtube being a premium service on Verizon. but isnt this deal like monopoly. i doubt the US government will allow this too happen without some legal troubles and a lot of money being payed to the government.

The only positive things I can see out of this, are that a) it's a true gsm marriage, which continues to maintain a world flavor to the phone and b) AT&T will have boatload of different bands: 1700, 2100, and whatever AT&T uses. That should free up 4G considerably.
Had T-Mobile and Sprint gotten together, I just can't see the CDMA-GSM thing. What were they going to use, half a sim card?
But I'm old enough to remember the bad AT&T days and can't feel that these will be any better.
Jake

AT&T is not that bad..lol

I have been with T-mobile since the company was Voicestream... Im hurt to see DT sell us out like this I hope google will outbid AT&T because I dont like any of the other cellular providers.

Androidboy35961 said:
AT&T is not that bad..lol
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I am very glad to hear someone speak well of AT&T, because my personal experience has not been good. I am convinced that CFB is dead-on with his assessment about why they purchased T-Mobile (his LTE argument). This is NOT even remotely good for the consumer.
I know only one person who has been happy with Sprint (out of dozens), but they seem to be the least restrictive which may force me to give them another try. But they'll probably have the same indoor reception issues Verizon has - CDMA doesn't penetrate walls as well as GSM does. It's kind of funny: we have two groups of people huddled outside the office doors - smokers and Verizons customers.

FWIW:
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/03...es-but-will-consumers-see-the-benefit/?hpt=T2

jakfish said:
FWIW:
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/03...es-but-will-consumers-see-the-benefit/?hpt=T2
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I read that this morning before leaving for work. It doesn't help to ease my tensions about the acquisition.

Given that it's a Republican, hence laissez faire, House, I can't see them stopping this merger, but the initial political chatter is very much against it. That could be nothing more than posturing for constituents, but for AT&T to take over 80% of the mobile market in one fell swoop, politicians are really going to have to look the other way.
They often do, however,
Jake

. The question now becomes said:
Well stated, and an apt analogy! That is as well the conundrum of the new prisoners at the state prison...
ATT will play the part of Bubba perfectly!
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Everybody needs to take a deep, deep breath and calm down. We're a two cellular carrier household; T-Mobile and AT&T. According to T-Mobile at their home page they addressed several questions one being our current devices and plans and they said they will honor them. For many of us who have been with T-Mobile for example were with two other companies in the SE USA - PowerTel and VoiceStream. It was no secret Deutsch TeleComm had been shopping T-Mobile USA around for quite some time and their statement reflects they will be concentrating with their business in the countries of Germany and other European countries. Current trends suggest AT&T has a 50-50 chance at obtaining T-Mobile USA; however their lobby in Washington is strong and there has been no hint from the Obama administration to curtail this merger as other big name mergers have yet to be turned down. There will be stipulations and this will be watched very carefully. Judging my the speed which this has moved in the past two days, much of the legwork prior to announcement seems to had been done well in advance. Whether we like it or not; we're at the whelm of these companies and they are going to do what is in their best interest and we're all along for the ride; we have a choice whether we like it or not, it's whether there are enough of us after the two companies merge.

jakfish said:
Given that it's a Republican, hence laissez faire, House, I can't see them stopping this merger, but the initial political chatter is very much against it. That could be nothing more than posturing for constituents, but for AT&T to take over 80% of the mobile market in one fell swoop, politicians are really going to have to look the other way.
They often do, however,
Jake
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It actually not on the Republicans this time. Democrats are the ones fighting for a nation-wide broadband network. This merger would be the basis for that goal. Our president has outlined this several times before. I would not be surprised in the least if AT&T becomes a monopoly...again. It's not that they would look the other way, it's more about will they allow it to happen to further their goal? I'm all for a national broadband infrastructure, but AT&T is NOT the way to achieve that.

SnittyKitty said:
Everybody needs to take a deep, deep breath and calm down. We're a two cellular carrier household; T-Mobile and AT&T. According to T-Mobile at their home page they addressed several questions one being our current devices and plans and they said they will honor them. For many of us who have been with T-Mobile for example were with two other companies in the SE USA - PowerTel and VoiceStream. It was no secret Deutsch TeleComm had been shopping T-Mobile USA around for quite some time and their statement reflects they will be concentrating with their business in the countries of Germany and other European countries. Current trends suggest AT&T has a 50-50 chance at obtaining T-Mobile USA; however their lobby in Washington is strong and there has been no hint from the Obama administration to curtail this merger as other big name mergers have yet to be turned down. There will be stipulations and this will be watched very carefully. Judging my the speed which this has moved in the past two days, much of the legwork prior to announcement seems to had been done well in advance. Whether we like it or not; we're at the whelm of these companies and they are going to do what is in their best interest and we're all along for the ride; we have a choice whether we like it or not, it's whether there are enough of us after the two companies merge.
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Well, more than anything, this is a financial move for DT. They get a payout no matter what happens. If the merger goes through, they will get an 8% stake in AT&T as well as a DT board member on AT&T's board of directors. Even if the deal falls through by some chance, T-Mobile gets $3 billion, a roaming agreement, and a hefty chunk of spectrum for AT&T, just for doing nothing. Either way, DT wins. No matter what, T-Mobile customers loose.

AT&T / T-Mobile Merger

The AT&T / T-MOBILE Merger fell through .. YAY !!!

shEEEsh said:
The AT&T / T-MOBILE Merger fell through .. YAY !!!
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Now to get raped by at&t! Lol
Sent from my HTC Glacier using xda premium

what? the xda home page says its falling apart... DOJ files against ATT

Mostly, I'm happy that the DOJ will attempt to block the merger, just on the basis that this merger will REDUCE the competition in the USA, to just AT&T, Verizon & Sprint, with a couple of smaller regional carriers left over.
On the down side, at&t "pledged" to bring around 5,000 jobs back to the USA, but, I'd take that with a grain of salt. AT&T wants this merger, because it would be cheaper to buy out t-mobile, than spend the money building out their 4G network.
AT&T is just cheap. Multi year profits, but they won't INVEST in their network.
As for the jobs coming back to the USA. They say that, but how many t-mobile jobs would be lost after a merger.
We are pretty much in the USA, held hostage now by Verizon & AT&T.

I've been with T-Mobile for over 10-years..... My monthly bill, including tax, is $67. That's 2000 minutes, free mobile-to-mobile, unlimited text / data and handset protection insurance. My wife's iPhone 4 on aTnT with 750 minutes, no insurance and limited texts is $128-something.... To make matters worse, my unlocked Streak running on T-Mobile's 2G network is usually FASTER than her iPhone on the DeathStar's "3G" network and I can't remember the last time I had a dropped call.
Having worked in PAC-fund management for many years, I wish this move by the Justice Dept. actually meant something.... I'm afraid it's just a placebo that may only lead to more detailed disclosure on aTnT's part, and a slight delay in the transaction.... but I seriously doubt the deal will be permanently stopped... We're just looking at DOJ's window dressing at the moment
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ShEEsh...... I really, REALLY hope I'm dead wrong about this.... I don't want to see my monthly bill double and get less than half the minutes and downright horrifying service from aTnT
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If the merger goes through I will probably go to Sprint or Verizon, who ever gets the iphone 5 when it comes out. I will NEVER use AT&T. I would go with MetroPCS, Boost, Virgin, a Walmart phone, a 7-eleven phone or ?? before I go to AT&T ..
I am preparing myself to hate my future phones if the merger goes through.

shEEEsh said:
If the merger goes through I will probably go to Sprint or Verizon, who ever gets the iphone 5 when it comes out. I will NEVER use AT&T. I would go with MetroPCS, Boost, Virgin, a Walmart phone, a 7-eleven phone or ?? before I go to AT&T ..
I am preparing myself to hate my future phones if the merger goes through.
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Virgin Motorola triumph is what I'll be looking at if it goes through. Decent phone and I'll save money for sure.
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I was talking to a bunch of reps who happened to be in the radio shack store at my mall one day. Man where they so pissed about this merger. It would basically put Verizon and More than any SPRINT at the hands of AT&T's power. They were telling me something along the lines that it would most likely not happen because of a monopoly through AT&T even if they kept T-Mobile separate. It has something to do with Sprint buying T-Mobiles wavebands(or something like that) and if the merger went through they would no longer be able to have 4G at the rate T-Mobile was giving them but at a higher rate through AT&T. Essentially making Sprint have to put caps on data and raise rates. I have been an AT&T customer for about 15yrs now and have had very little problems with them to be honest. Yes the occasional dropped calls but no more than others have reported on other carriers. I will stay by them for as long as I can but they are starting to look very snudy!

Might not have a choice. If (when) the merger goes through, even though they say they won't, Verizon will make a play for Sprint (CDMA) to stay "competitive".
That will leave AT&T & Verizon as pretty much, the only 2 nationwide carriers.
The "agreements" between AT&T & Verizon, and the boost/virgin/walmart will probably go away (they are just being nice right now).
AT&T has spent the last 25 years reconstituting itself and has just about achieved it's goal of putting MaBell back together. Once it happens, you think prices are high & choice is poor now, just look out.
shEEEsh said:
If the merger goes through I will probably go to Sprint or Verizon, who ever gets the iphone 5 when it comes out. I will NEVER use AT&T. I would go with MetroPCS, Boost, Virgin, a Walmart phone, a 7-eleven phone or ?? before I go to AT&T ..
I am preparing myself to hate my future phones if the merger goes through.
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Why not just boycott the mofos then..? If only the U.S. citizens could band together we could easily control them. Without demand there is no resource for supply. Without supply there is no profit. Without profit there is no "MaBell". Make a boycott petition type deal. We can always start mass blogging and twitting to get started and word of mouuth and social networking will take the rest. With a set date and a little reassurance we could beat them down and pit em in their places, our servants of cellular communication, not as our f##$ing little to nothing no good capped and limited data sum butchering butt poking bafoon looking providers.
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There's very few alternatives for GSM, At&t and tmo own the vast majority of the towers. The few towers owned by 3rd parties are regional, so unless they all have sharing agreements you'll either be roaming or using at&t or tmo's towers out of region.
Towers dont magically sprout up out of nowhere, most cell providors that arnt tmo or at&t lease airtime off them or verizon or sprint. they could literally kill all their contracts and still stay afloat by selling airtime (this is oversimplified, i honestly dont know if they can be long-term viable, but short term definitely)
The only way to get really good cell service is to be a billionare and start your own company where you can dictate terms as pretty much every carrier on the planet has it's own issues and quirks (and moving to another country for good cell service is crazy)
Online petitions are what you DONT do to get stuff done. You're literally better off not giving a damn then using online petitions. Unless you can get several dozen million esignatures it's not worth anything.

Really don't envy the GSM situation over in the states.
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A petition doesn't get things done...? You ever read how class-axtion lawsuits are started...? Lol if say 10 million people all agreed to stop paying December 1st on their bills till they are satisfied with the compensation the cell provider will offer Wed get what we wanted. If there is no demand you cannot supply. Plain old economics people. 11th grade general class....
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Signing a petition would only show a general public dislike of the proposed merger..... Unfortunately, that has nothing to do with and cannot stop capitalism run amuck.... Regardless of the DoJ's disapproval of the deal, only the FCC alone can stop the deal by refusing to reassign T-Mobile's wireless spectrum over to aTnT..... However, all aTnT needs to do is pressure Congress (through campaign contributions), to support the deal (by saying it will create 5,000 new jobs in this economic downturn)...... But everyone knows there's no law that would prohibit aTnT from laying off tens of thousands after the deal is done. As much as I HATE aTnT, this deal WILL go through, unfortunately
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Sprint files suit to stop AT&T / T-Mobile merger *update* At&t strikes back lol

Sprint files suit to stop AT&T / T-Mobile merger *update* At&t strikes back lol
Looks like the US government isn't the only party looking to stand in the way of AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile. Sprint today announced that it has filed suit in federal court in the District of Columbia against AT&T, Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile. The filing outlines the carrier's concern that the proposed deal would harm consumers, corporate customers and carriers (such as, you know, Sprint), while transforming AT&T-Mobile and Verizon into a "duopoly." Of course, this isn't the first time the carrier has let the world know that it's not particularly pumped about the whole proposal. See the full litigious press release after the break.
source:http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/06/sprint-files-suit-to-stop-atandt-t-mobile-merger/

AT&T fires back against Sprint over T-Mobile acquisition suit
Well, that didn't take long. Sprint today revealed that it has filed a suit against AT&T's proposed T-Mobile purchase -- and now AT&T is hitting back with some less than flattering words. An AT&T spokesperson told Engadget, "this simply demonstrates what we've said all along -- Sprint is more interested in protecting itself than it is in promoting competition that benefits consumers." AT&T went on to promise a "vigorous fight" and reiterated that such a merger would ultimately prove beneficial to the industry and consumers, improving wireless service and solving spectrum concerns.
Source:http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/06/atandt-fires-back-against-sprint-over-t-mobile-acquisition-suit/
**** getting real

auau465121 said:
Well, that didn't take long. Sprint today revealed that it has filed a suit against AT&T's proposed T-Mobile purchase -- and now AT&T is hitting back with some less than flattering words. An AT&T spokesperson told Engadget, "this simply demonstrates what we've said all along -- Sprint is more interested in protecting itself than it is in promoting competition that benefits consumers." AT&T went on to promise a "vigorous fight" and reiterated that such a merger would ultimately prove beneficial to the industry and consumers, improving wireless service and solving spectrum concerns.
Source:http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/06/atandt-fires-back-against-sprint-over-t-mobile-acquisition-suit/
**** getting real
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How does at&t buying tmobile promote competition?
I'll wait.

Lol I liked the idea putting the movie wedding Crasher on the title.screen.
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culua said:
Lol I liked the idea putting the movie wedding Crasher on the title.screen.
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yeah that had me laughing too

mattykinsx said:
How does at&t buying tmobile promote competition?
I'll wait.
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Ha! AT&T sucks ass and they know it! For example, when AT&T first got the IPhone, it overwhelmed their network. AT&T STILL hasn't learned from their mistake(s).
I would rather go prepaid than have AT&T has a sole GSM carrier.
Also, I think and heard that there is a petition floating around contesting the AT&T merger/buyout of TMobile.

mattykinsx said:
How does at&t buying tmobile promote competition?
I'll wait.
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I have had T-mobile before. I didn't mind it. Taking our choice down to 3 from 4 decreases the competition. I can't see how this is good for consumers. Only argument I can see is that merging the two means their coverages merge but me living in a major city don't have coverage problems with any carrier. But better coverage doesn't mean better for consumer because that means ATT can continue to charge their high prices with less alternative.

jessejames111981 said:
I have had T-mobile before. I didn't mind it. Taking our choice down to 3 from 4 decreases the competition. I can't see how this is good for consumers. Only argument I can see is that merging the two means their coverages merge but me living in a major city don't have coverage problems with any carrier. But better coverage doesn't mean better for consumer because that means ATT can continue to charge their high prices with less alternative.
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It's important to note...
Their coverage will not merge, they will improve though.
Due to rules to prevent monopolies they will likely have to sell off some of the acquired spectrum.
At&t will gain, and the gains will be noticeable, but they won't gain every subscriber/tower from T-mobile.
But that's obviously not the problem with this merger.
And I'm yet to hear one good reason why this merger is "promoting" competition.

AT&T just has some wack ass plan prices. T-Mobile are a bunch of morons. I was having problems with my signal & this guy kept telling me to use WiFi calling & i asked him if it had WiFi on the phone & he said I don't know. I knew there was no Wifi on the phone but i wanted to see how much this guy even knew about phone. He had a computer right in front of him with the make & model of the phone i was using & could not figure out if it had Wifi. I finally told him this kind of phone does not have Wifi & he said ok we will send you one that does have it. lol. T-Mobile cut my friends phone off because he was 1 day late paying his bill, PFFT. What a joke. I wish Sprint would have bought T-Mobile, Then everyone would be happy. Sprint is by far the BEST company! I hope Sprint does stop AT&T from buying T-Mobile then turns around & buys them. Hope Sprint also gets the NFL contract back, They should have never let that go.

AT&T knows that having less companies allows them to control a market that is a need for us consumers. By having more companies providing a service in communications allows the customer to have a choice, which eventually will help in the price of the service. Any company, regardless of service by having less competition allows them price their service to benefit them, not the consumer.

let att have it. if they dont buy it, dt is already saying that they would rather shut down t-mo and sell off its assets rather than spin it off and do an ipo. either way, were going down to 3 carriers.

austin420 said:
let att have it. if they dont buy it, dt is already saying that they would rather shut down t-mo and sell off its assets rather than spin it off and do an ipo. either way, were going down to 3 carriers.
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I'd rather that happen then have ma bell back.
Your cell phone bill with thank the U.S. government/Sprint as well.