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This just made the T-Mobile and AT&T merger trials a lot more interesting. According to a source of Reuters‘, if this deal is rejected by the governing bodies of our nation, AT&T has to pay up $6 billion, which includes $3 billion in cash, $2 billion in spectrum and $1 billion worth of roaming privileges for users who wander outside of T-Mobile coverage area. The industry is not confident that the deal will go through.
All signs have pointed to a rejection and regulators have not made it easy-going for T-Mobile and AT&T thus far. There’s still a lot to get through, though. T-Mobile wouldn’t have much of an advantage over their pre-acquisition woes if they end up getting rejected, but improvement through this promised capital would be better than nothing at all.
Sounds good to me. Better than being acquired by the death star.
I’m hoping it gets rejected. I like the fair share of competition available currently in the US mobile phone market .
Agree I mean why can’t at&t just use the $39 billion they were going to pay for tmobile and expand their network? I think they are just too lazy and figure if they bought out tmobile then they wouldnt have to actually expand their network since tmobile would do that for them.
Well here’s the fun part:
Spend $39B on $39B worth of network upgrades
OR
Spend $39B on $20B worth of network upgrades, $10B worth of customers (the ones that don’t jump ship), and $30B worth of less competition to deal with.
The merger makes financial sense in the short run. It’s just amazing to see companies failing to recognize the long-term negative effects of unethical actions. I mean really… I get that the business only exists to make money for the owners. I’m all for that really. But screwing the customers and the market will only lead to less income in the long run.
AT&T does spend money..tens of billions every year, expanding their network. and still no matter what they spend, you have people who say that they don’t spend any money. The problem for both AT&T and TMobile, is available spectrum to implement LTE.. The merger is their solution.. If the merger goes through, they will then have to spend billions integrating the 2 networks, and then spend billions more deploying LTE.. This is not a “cheap way out”.. I don’t want the merger to go through, because I want more than 1 GSM carrier.. but I suspect that if it doesn’t, it is going to be 1 GSM carrier with half baked LTE, and 1 GSM carrier with no LTE.. but I can live with it.
> why can’t at&t just use the $39 billion they were
> going to pay for tmobile and expand their network?
Because getting rid of a competitor makes it easier to get rid of other competitors. The less competition there is, the more you can price-gouge customers. With less effective competition, it becomes much more difficult to prove that your prices are too high. After all, what are you comparing against?
YES THEY CAN IS JUST THAT THE HOLE IDEA WAS TO KILL TWO BIRD WITH ONE STONE.
They should probably give me some of that $6B if it gets rejected for making me worry about it in the first place.
Actually it makes the proposed merger much less interesting . AT&T isn’t going to gamble 6 billion . It has enough ” friends ” in government to have been assured this merger will pass . It probably already knows what it will have to divest & the future regulations coming its way . It is not easy to pass 6 billion on to its customers . It is also hard after arguing that it doesn’t have enough spectrum for an LTE network to just give spectrum . Watch which government ” players ” in this merger end up going to work for AT&T after this thing passes .
Well 6 billion is still less then the 39 billion they are buying it for so your comment doesnt hold much ground. I mean they are going to take a hit if they merger goes through because I’m sure there will be alot of customers who leave tmobile because they dont want at&t in the first place.
I will be one of those T-mobile customers . But I agree with the statement because AT&T doesn’t care if customers leave . It wants the infrastructure & spectrum . Then there is that only GSM provider thing . They will get customers over time from the bundling of landline services especially as U-verse spreads. AT&T also wants either Dish or Directv and currently has partnerships with both .More bundling options . Then they will get some of Sprints customers when some of them choose not to go to Verizon after they merge . Its a future investment . It was an aggressive bid for a reason .
I can confirm this belief. ie, most of the attorneys in the DoJ have iphones and said branch of government has exclusive contracts with Verizon for their BB services.
So basically, that means AT&T will be willing to bribe up to $5.9 billion to make sure the deal goes through.
This purposed merger is FARCE and so is At&t. In today’s world nobody should have to be forced to be on a carrier choice should always exist. At&t only cares about themselves and all they are clearly doing is using tmobile for spectrum nothing more is with that. They could care less about tmobile customers or android for that matter. I applaud sprint and whoever else that decides to STANDUP and speak out concerning this merger. In the long run sprint will benefit hands down cause they will be the only affordable carrier left standing but honestly their is nothing wrong with how things are today as is. The old saying is if its not broke then leave it alone. At&t is GREEDY and only cares about themselves i hope this merger FALLS ON IT’S FACE FLAT…
Sprint is against it because they will be the odd man out if it happens since they will have the least customers and worst coverage.
They will also be out of business . If they go so does Boost & Virgin. The next pay by AT&T or Verizon would be roaming charges . They would have a total stranglehold on the market .
Boost & Virgin Mobile are both owned by Sprint
You are such an idiot. 1) The
closest definition of “farce” that matches your description is
“foolish show; mockery; a ridiculous sham”. The closest even that
definition comes is maybe with “a ridiculous sham”, but given that it
is what they are saying it is, an acquisition of T-Mobile, it isn’t even that.
Such an uneducated moron. Use a dictionary next time. 2) “nobody should have to be forced to be on a carrier choice should always
exist.” Here’s a “thought provoking” statement for you: even if
the deal does go through, there’s still 3 major carriers to CHOOSE from. No
one’s being forced. Current T-Mobile customers can choose to stay with T-Mobile
(which then becomes AT&T), or jump to Sprint or Verizon. I’d say that’s
choice right there. 3) As far as I know, AT&T hasn’t come out and publicly
said why they’re doing this. It has been speculated that wireless spectrum is
the main reason for the buyout, but (as far as I know) not confirmed. 4) You’re
sorta kinda right about AT&T not caring about its customers. What you fail
to understand is that the main goal of ANY business is to make a profit. All
other factors are secondary. So if AT&T is making a profit and losing a few
customers, I don’t think they’d give a damn. If a company doesn’t make a
profit, it tanks, and ultimately the customers (and employees) lose out. Go
take your uneducated, ignorant, stupid self somewhere else. You have no idea
what you are even saying.
Ha got put on blast son! Lmao! Well said squiddy20! (Golf clap) :) ! (Golf clap) :)
hahaha golf clap..lame
Hahaha.. YOU are an uneducated douche monkey sitting behind a computer putting someone on blast for a comment on a mobile phone forum site. GET REAL squid boy go get some pussy and stop crying. If the deal happens Sprint will most likely die as well as Virgin and others like someone else said. Leaving you with Verizon or AT&T which are already both over priced. @5f97fb0ef8f22bd909564eec99f5b855:disqus
Please tell me how I’m an “uneducated douche monkey” instead of insulting me without any proof. It is possible Sprint might *eventually* die off as a result of the merger. I never said anything to contrary. In fact, I never said anything about the future of Sprint. That’s why the FCC, Justice Department, and other involved parties will most likely take their sweet time in their decision. They need to make sure a duopoly doesn’t possibly crop up and that all will still be fair afterwards. As for my opinions on the deal, I honestly don’t care. Whatever happens, happens and I’ll go with it. No amount of crying, bitching, or complaining will change it.
hahahaha..wow calling someone uneducated.to get out of here last time i checked nobody has to get out,we all have the right to state our mind?your not exactly the brightest bulb out there.you just seem more of a pompous ass.yes maybe i spelled that wrong,dang,,and a lowlife
though i have no problem with at t.
Does everyone have a right to their own state of mind? Absolutely. But that doesn’t mean you need to post such a ridiculous statement such as the one Richard made. He obviously doesn’t understand a word of what he’s writing, so why post at all? Would you really want a 10 year old who knows nothing about the subject he’s writing about, writing an article, commenting on here, or any other forum? That’s basically Richard, with the exception that he’s in his 40’s and still posting like a child. I don’t have a problem with simply stating opinion, it’s when it becomes boisterous, obnoxious, or flat out irritable that I have an issue with. How would you respond to someone who runs around screaming that Sprint/HTC are God and every other carrier/company are the scum of the earth? There is a place for opinions such as that, here is not one of them. commenting on here, or any other forum? That’s basically Richard, with the exception that he’s in his 40’s and still posting like a child. I don’t have a problem with simply stating opinion, it’s when it becomes boisterous, obnoxious, or flat out irritable that I have an issue with. How would you respond to someone who runs around screaming that Sprint/HTC are God and every other carrier/company are the scum of the earth? There is a place for opinions such as that, here is not one of them.
Damn this weird text copying glitch…
Just to clarify, profit first is really only applicable to publicly owned companies, these types of companies must report to shareholders who demand a profit every single report. A private company can decide it’s happy making a million dollars profit each year, and that might actually benefit customers and maybe that’s what the company owner wants. It’s the damn public ones that are ruthless, shareholders demand constant increases and companies and their CEOs have to make decisions to do shitty things to keep up. It sucks, but it is what it is
The girl in pink has her fingers crossed.
I dont understand they split at&t up then let it come back then split it up for being to big yet they r going to let them buy T-Mobile? Smh
Actually.. What I would like the regulators to do, is say.. ok you can do this, if your Mobile divisions splits from your parent company.. You re-brand, and maintain at least a 70 percent retention of T Mobiles employees. In other words, create a new company separate from the rest of AT&T… Not gonna happen, but I think more people would accept that.
Old news… this was stated back when the merger first was announced.
LOL, yeah…that’s what I was thinking…but it looks like no one else noticed that…
Just say no to GSM monopolies.
Prices for service are getting crazy. 5 years ago, i paid $39 a month.(Sprint) Now i pay $89.(TM) My friends on Verizon and AT&T are at $119. I do appreciate the data and my Android, but these carriers know that we are hooked.
I for one say to heck with all this competition, we in reality need three choices. Why do you people keep flipping your crap over open this open that, anything open source or related suuuuuucks.
I would be so happy if the word “if” wasn’t in the title of this article.
yay!!
Um, I just have to ask. Is this common for buyout offers? I offer to buy a company, but if I can’t buy the company due to regulations beyond my control, I have to pay $6 billion dollars to the company anyway? WTF?
you do realize that if they do merge prices would drop like crazy for all att customers and coverage would improve, and it was fast pass for ltv instead of this hspda plus
Randall Stephenson already said AT&T’s customers rates wouldn’t go down . He said that if AT&T’s customers wanted cheaper rates they would be with T-Mobile .
T-Mobile is getting the first 4G iPhone.
http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-4s-2011-5
Now all we can hope is that the powers that be send the death star packing.
.o matter how it goes t-mobile will go belly up and at&t will but most of the remains.