AT&T to Buy T-Mobile USA

[Lunican]

AT&T to Buy T-Mobile USA

AT&T Inc. agreed to buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom AG for $39 billion in cash and stock, in a deal that would create the biggest U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers and fundamentally alter the industry's competitive landscape.

Under the deal, the companies said AT&T will pay $25 billion in cash and the balance in stock, giving T-Mobile's German parent an 8% stake in AT&T.

Full Article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704433904576212810008230654.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

T-Mobile was the only big carrier left that wasn't demanding 2-year contracts and had pretty cheap prepaid plans.

[buckethead]

Bad news for wireless consumers.

ATT = teh suxor

[stjr]

I don't know how the anti-trust regulators can keep approving transactions like this.  There already is little competition in the communications industry, whether it be phone, internet, cellular, satellite/cable, etc.  The proof of it is the lousy service and treatment given customers, the lack of options and real choice, onerous terms and conditions, heavy handed business practices, and relatively high prices versus other parts of the world.  And the worst of the worst, according to ongoing surveys, is AT&T.

Like the airline industry, this lack of competition is creating a "race to the bottom."  Let's hope this deal gets nixed.  Unfortunately, my experience is the agencies charged with regulating this industry ike the FCC are in the pockets of the industry.  I don't expect them to stand up for the consumers they are charged with looking out for.

[chipwich]

If AT&T honors the existing rate plans of current T-Mobile customers, it seems lke its a win for T-Mobile customers who will gain a much better network (but will loose T-Mobile's fantastic customer service).  AT&T customers could then consider switching to T-mobile to lock in a cheaper rate plan, knowing they will gain AT&T service very soon.

Also, it means T-Mobile customers finally get the iPhone!  Bad part is that AT&T is unnecessarily expensive and has bad customer service.

[Lunican]

I agree stjr. I am not a fan of the wireless companies business practices in the U.S. They demand two year contracts, lock phones, disable features, and sell over-priced and inflexible plans. I'd much rather buy an unlocked phone and use it with any provider just like the rest of the world.

You can't even activate a smart phone on Verizon or AT&T for voice without a mandatory data plan.

[stjr]

I was just thinking, I wonder if T-Mobile will keep running their recent ad campaign knocking AT&T and Verizon?  It could take a year for this deal to go through, if it does.  Do they take they gloves off or keeping bashing their prospective new "bosses"?

Chipwich, any win for T-Mobile customers will really be a loss.  AT&T's network is well documented to be far from stellar (it drops my I-phone calls daily) and their customer service is so bad it falls off the charts even in an industry that, itself, is known for terrible customer service.  And, once the ink dries, count on AT&T raising your prices to boot.  I won't even get into my litany of their often questionable business practices.  I don't think any T-Mobile customers will see this as a "win" when it's done.  As a customer of two prior cell companies, both absorbed into AT&T, I can tell you wireless "hell" is coming your way.

[Lunican]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFjVZizLVE4

[stjr]

The NY Times posted a detailed article on this deal, its potential consequence, and its prospects for approval, featuring this quote by Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports:

“AT&T is already a giant in the wireless marketplace, where customers routinely complain about hidden charges and other anticonsumer practices,” said Parul P. Desai, policy counsel for Consumers Union. “From a consumer’s perspective, it’s difficult to come up with any justification or benefits from letting AT&T swallow up one of its few major competitors.”

More at: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/att-to-buy-t-mobile-usa-for-39-billion/?hp

[chipwich]

Chipwich, any win for T-Mobile customers will really be a loss.  AT&T's network is well documented to be far from stellar (it drops my I-phone calls daily) and their customer service is so bad it falls off the charts even in an industry that, itself, is known for terrible customer service.  And, once the ink dries, count on AT&T raising your prices to boot.  I won't even get into my litany of their often questionable business practices.  I don't think any T-Mobile customers will see this as a "win" when it's done.  As a customer of two prior cell companies, both absorbed into AT&T, I can tell you wireless "hell" is coming your way.

good point stjr.  As a T-Mobile customer for almost 10 years now, I have mixed emotions about this deal.  I have wanted an iphone for a while, but have refused to pay AT&T's ridiculous service fees (almost $150/mont for the minutes and data plan I would use).  I also could not fathom the prospect of having to deal with AT&T's customer service.

I have always been befuddled as to why T-Mobile never caught on more.  Their prices were the cheapest of the big four (until Sprint decided to unleash cheaper unlimited plans last year) and their customer service was amazing.  Until a year or two ago, it was open 24/7 and I have never left a T-Mobile service call upset.  They do everything they can to keep customers happy and take care of occasional overages.  Their reception I must admit was not always that great, but has gotten better over the past couple of years. Their local 3G data signal did suck though, AT&T is much better.

Also, while it might not be important to others, their international coverage and roaming agreements were by far the best of the four.  I am not that much of a world traveler, but I swear you could not step off a plane anywhere and not have crystal clear coverage (European coverage is especially great).  Oh, and if you have a problem in a foreign country, you don't have to worry about it, cause T-Mobile customer care was 24/7 and could sort your issue on the spot.

My only hope is that my current unlimited minutes plan will get to stay when I try to upgrade to an iphone.  Without that, I am definitely switching carriers.

[peestandingup]

Great, more monopolies. Pretty soon they'll only be two wireless carriers in the entire US, cause you just know Verizon is gonna be itching to purchase Sprint after this. Would be a good fit too because they're both CDMA carriers.

This doesn't put consumers in a good position because wireless internet is clearly the way we'll all eventually be accessing the internet. And the carriers have already started introducing tiered (limited) internet service now & completely doing away with any unlimited plans. Verizon actually wants to take that further & start letting certain devices only access certain content, promoting certain sites with speed increases, etc. Google's slimy asses are in this with them of course because Google's in the mobile game nowadays with Android: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/09/google-and-verizons-net-neutrality-proposal-explained/

Oh, and I don't sign contracts anymore. They're too restrictive, too expensive to get out of & hardware changes too often. I'm really amazed we still do that here in the US. I'd recommend pre-paid any day of the week over contracts now. Used to, pre-paids were the "loser phones", but they've grown up big time.

I've been on Page Plus for a couple months now & its great. They use Verizon's towers & any Verizon branded phone (expect Blackberries). So that means I can buy a used, fairly new Verizon smartphone from someone (a Droid, a Palm Pre, another Android phone, etc), activate it on Page Plus & not have to deal with Verizon directly with their expensive plans & fees. Their Talk n Text 1200 plan is the bomb: http://www.pagepluscellular.com/Plans/Talk%20n%20Text%201200.aspx

[fieldafm]

Was scrolling through my Pulse newsfeed app yesterday and came across this dissapointing news. 

I am a T-Mobile customer that has an Iphone.  ATT&T's service is just not good and their customer service is even worse(you will be calling them quite often b/c either your billing was screwed up or your phone drops calls non-stop... I've only called TMobile's customer service line twice... and once was to change voice plans and the other was a billing mistake which they fixed and credited my account ON THE SPOT).  I have an unlocked Iphone 3 with a T-Mobile data plan and while the internet service is slightly slower than when I was on ATT&T's network... the overall service with T-Mobile is so much better that I don't mind the minimal(in my mind) internet speed difference.

I may switch over to Verizon when this ATT/TMobile deal goes through.

[KenFSU]

Terrible news for the consumer.

If this goes through, we might as well just shut down the regulatory committees, as they simply aren't doing their jobs in the interest of the population at large.

I fear it's a lost cause though.

If text messaging charges -- which cost telcos nothing yet are billed at a rate of over $1,000 per megabyte -- haven't been investigated after all these years, I have little faith that this merger will be.

[Lunican]

You can use an iPhone on T-Mobile, but the 3G frequency that AT&T uses is different so you are only getting the EDGE network on T-Mobile (that's why it seems so slow).

[Cliffs_Daughter]

I'm screwed then.

I'm currently with T-Mobile, and own a Sidekick. In case you didn't know about those, they sent us SK owners a letter a while back saying they are discontinuing the data plans on them.    I only had mine for about 8 months and they'll offer me half-off some 'select' phones to 'replace' it (meaning the crappiest Samsung models only and then I'd have a 2-year renewal on that) OR I can drop my contract entirely w/o penalty.
But then what?

I HATE AT&T. I just can't go back to them after CS issues years ago. And I had Verizon before Magenta here, but they don't have the signal strength in my neighborhood - especially when all the Orions fly over.

GRRRRRrrrrrrrrrr... 

[wsansewjs]

I'm screwed then.

I'm currently with T-Mobile, and own a Sidekick. In case you didn't know about those, they sent us SK owners a letter a while back saying they are discontinuing the data plans on them.    I only had mine for about 8 months and they'll offer me half-off some 'select' phones to 'replace' it (meaning the crappiest Samsung models only and then I'd have a 2-year renewal on that) OR I can drop my contract entirely w/o penalty.
But then what?

I HATE AT&T. I just can't go back to them after CS issues years ago. And I had Verizon before Magenta here, but they don't have the signal strength in my neighborhood - especially when all the Orions fly over.

GRRRRRrrrrrrrrrr... 

You would be pleased to know that there will be a new Sidekick that has the same form, but it runs on the amazing Android and it will be manufactured by Samsung. It should be out in next month. The official Sidekick which T-Mobile outsourced its cloud management data to Microsoft and their 'DANGER' servers, is going to shut down by now or already then.

Last year, the 'DANGER' servers has suffered a catastrophic failure and the entire Sidekick ecosystem collapsed. T-Mobile said NO MORE to that. That's why they are canceling the Sidekick's function in features, but still want to keep the sub-brand alive with the new Sidekick phone coming out.

-Josh