Breaking news: U.S. Files Antitrust Complaint to Block AT&T, T-Mobile Merger

[smartpatrol]

I am amazed, first good decision I've seen for some time.

Who in the hell agreed to a 3 billion fee if the deal fell through?

Back when the deal was first announced, I read an interesting analysis (forgot where, though).

He said that the huge fee if the deal falls through was proof that T-Mobile was nervous it wouldn't go through. He said that, if they weren't so nervous, it would make more sense to optimize other parameters of the deal instead. Definitely makes sense.

 

[pm]

While I could really care less if they merger or not, I find it amazing how many people are against the merger that aren’t using T-Mobile. It’d be one thing if you were using T-Mobile and didn’t want your service/price to change, but to block it in the name of competition doesn’t ring right to me. T-Mobile has been offering lower priced services for a while now, yet they’re still losing out to AT&T and Verizon.

My daughter is on T-Mobile - which means I am too because I pay her bill. I was a T-Mobile customer for 6 years until I switched to AT&T so that I could get an iPhone. If T-Mobile gets an iPhone, I'll move back. Or maybe I'll just back anyway when they get the SG2 later this autumn.

If this merger is blocked the parent company of T-Mobile would have to take a lower offer, prob much lower, or just kill it off.

There is pretty much no possible scenario in which T-Mobile would get killed off. It was a self-sustaining company before Deusche Telecom acquired it, and it could be a viable business solo. I can think of several other interesting scenarios - like Comcast or Google acquiring it - that would be really interesting. Or just stop and think about Amazon buying them... But the idea that the 4th largest mobile phone company in the US would just go out of business because no one is interested in buying them... not gonna happen.

I am amazed, first good decision I've seen for some time.

You know what I'm going to say.

 

[Pliablemoose]

You know what I'm going to say.

LOL, you earned it....

 

[MarkLuvsCS]

....Congressmen who are owned by the previously mentioned telecom companies.

[sarcasm]
What? Congressmen are there for the good of the country! They are so American they piss red white and blue. Congressmen would never accept contributions for such unethical practices!
[/sarcasm]

How is there not more outrage over BS like this. Didn't the head of the FCC leave a month after concluding NBC-Comcast is so good for consumers, and they became a paid lobbyist for Comcast to the FCC?

 

[akugami]

No. A Sprint purchase would have been pro-competitive. Sprint buying TMO would bring Sprint up to the same level as ATT & Verizon in customers and infrastructure. ATT buying TMO creates 2 huge carriers and leaves Sprint a distant third. Sprint would then be acquired by Verizon or ATT, leaving the US with only 2 carriers.

Aside from the spectrum, T-Mobile being bought with Sprint makes no sense. Kinda like Sprint and Nextel. I was with Nextel at the time too. They have to eventually merge the two networks and that means one of the networks will have to be completely scrapped.

I posted this in another thread but I don't care whether T-Mobile is going to be merged with Sprint or with AT&T. It means jack to me and it will mean jack to most of you. You want cheaper phone plans across the board? Get the government to regulate the industry, yes government regulation, and ban term contracts. Most people are too dumb to see the subsidized phone drives up the prices of contracts and gives all carriers a crapload of money in the long run. My rant from the other thread is below.

I don't care about the merger. You guys want cheaper phone plans? Have the government ban those god f'n damned two year contracts. Seriously. Ban all cell phone contracts. Places like Hong Kong and other territories where they have to pay full price for a cell phone but have no phone contracts actually have cheaper cell phone bills. That's because they don't have to pay a monthly plan that has a subsidization cost built in. For many of us, they can get an el'cheapo or a decent second hand phone and save big bucks on cell phone bills.

The only reason I get a new phone and renew my contract is because I'm already paying a subsidized cost for a new phone whether I renew my contract or not. Might as well renew my contract and get a new phone. It's not like the plans are any cheaper if I bring my own phone or am out of the contract.

 

[ImDonly1]

My daughter is on T-Mobile - which means I am too because I pay her bill. I was a T-Mobile customer for 6 years until I switched to AT&T so that I could get an iPhone. If T-Mobile gets an iPhone, I'll move back. Or maybe I'll just back anyway when they get the SG2 later this autumn.

There is pretty much no possible scenario in which T-Mobile would get killed off. It was a self-sustaining company before Deusche Telecom acquired it, and it could be a viable business solo. I can think of several other interesting scenarios - like Comcast or Google acquiring it - that would be really interesting. Or just stop and think about Amazon buying them... But the idea that the 4th largest mobile phone company in the US would just go out of business because no one is interested in buying them... not gonna happen.


You know what I'm going to say.

I don't think comcast would give us low prices. Also, I don't think people would be too happy comcast acquiring t-mobile, right after they took over nbc. I agree though, I would like to see some third party take over t-mobile (not someone in the wireless industry already).

 

[Aikouka]

Eh, I don't think unsubsidized prices would really work... well, it would if people had enough to throw $400 to 600 on a credit card.

 

[lothar]

My daughter is on T-Mobile - which means I am too because I pay her bill. I was a T-Mobile customer for 6 years until I switched to AT&T so that I could get an iPhone. If T-Mobile gets an iPhone, I'll move back. Or maybe I'll just back anyway when they get the SG2 later this autumn.

There is pretty much no possible scenario in which T-Mobile would get killed off. It was a self-sustaining company before Deusche Telecom acquired it, and it could be a viable business solo. I can think of several other interesting scenarios - like Comcast or Google acquiring it - that would be really interesting. Or just stop and think about Amazon buying them... But the idea that the 4th largest mobile phone company in the US would just go out of business because no one is interested in buying them... not gonna happen.


You know what I'm going to say.

I was just about to post this...
Comcast is the only major broadband provider without a wireless service.

 

[Thegonagle]

If T-Mobile and Sprint merge, they will be able to start fresh with LTE as they transition away from GSM and CDMA, which will eventually become the wordwide standard anyway. LTE technology can basically work in any frequency band licensed, as long as the phone is designed to tune them in.

If they do everything right transitioning to LTE, within 3-4 years, nobody will remember that they were ever two 100% incompatible networks, and we will boast 3 healthy nationwide wireless carriers instead of only two.

 

[zinfamous]

I was just about to post this...
Comcast is the only major broadband provider without a wireless service.

didn't Google buy up all of the analog OTA bandwidth or whatever that is after the FCC "released it" wiht the digital switch?

what are they doing with it, and is it somehow relevant to contemporary spectrum?

 

[gaidensensei]

One thing I could see good that came out from the merger after it happened, was a unified network standard defined for the USA GSM network bands in the future.
No more 850/1900 vs 900/2100 band differences crap, that thing needs to go so that carrier-tied phones will also go away.
Who likes buying a phone knowing that it can only be tied to one network and only EDGE on another?
It virtually makes phones on either network crippled unless you buy quad band phones, or import a different spec'ed model of the phone from a different country.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea for antitrust officials to get involved sometimes, because sometimes good things can come unexpectedly.

Keeping t-mobile alive draws away the need for another GSM underdog to rise in the USA.

 

[gaidensensei]

If T-Mobile and Sprint merge, they will be able to start fresh with LTE as they transition away from GSM and CDMA, which will eventually become the wordwide standard anyway. LTE technology can basically work in any frequency band licensed, as long as the phone is designed to tune them in.

If they do everything right transitioning to LTE, within 3-4 years, nobody will remember that they were ever two 100% incompatible networks, and we will boast 3 healthy nationwide wireless carriers instead of only two.

The way sprint posted their response to the DoJ, it doesn't sound like they'd even be able to merge in the immediate future, lol. :thumbsdown:

 

[Thegonagle]

didn't Google buy up all of the analog OTA bandwidth or whatever that is after the FCC "released it" wiht the digital switch?

what are they doing with it, and is it somehow relevant to contemporary spectrum?

I believe Google placed bids on every piece of the old analog TV spectrum, but ended up with little if any. AFAIK, Verizon Wireless ended up with a lot of it, AT&T got almost as much, and other companies got the rest. Verizon Wireless is using theirs to deploy 4G-LTE data. I assume AT&T has been planning along similar lines, but they have obviously done less about actually deploying LTE on their new licenses.

AT&T had better stop wasting their time on anti-competitive strategies, and start building that LTE network. (And at 30-some billion dollars vs. 4 billion, it's a no-brainer, unless, well, you're completely brainless.)

 

[Mermaidman]

I did not know that T-Mobile (Deutsche Telekom) was in such bad shape. T-Mobile lost 663K contract customers ever since the merger was announced, and income fell >50%!

 

[akugami]

Eh, I don't think unsubsidized prices would really work... well, it would if people had enough to throw $400 to 600 on a credit card.

You're not forced to buy a $400-600 phone. You can buy a cheaper phone or get one second hand.

 

[Dulanic]

I did not know that T-Mobile (Deutsche Telekom) was in such bad shape. T-Mobile lost 663K contract customers ever since the merger was announced, and income fell >50%!

Well a lot of people hate at&t so it makes sense.

 

[Dulanic]

One thing I could see good that came out from the merger after it happened, was a unified network standard defined for the USA GSM network bands in the future.
No more 850/1900 vs 900/2100 band differences crap, that thing needs to go so that carrier-tied phones will also go away.
Who likes buying a phone knowing that it can only be tied to one network and only EDGE on another?
It virtually makes phones on either network crippled unless you buy quad band phones, or import a different spec'ed model of the phone from a different country.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea for antitrust officials to get involved sometimes, because sometimes good things can come unexpectedly.

Keeping t-mobile alive draws away the need for another GSM underdog to rise in the USA.

Lol you think that would happen? It's still locked to one carrier, just how they want it.

 

[Anubis]

I was just about to post this...
Comcast is the only major broadband provider without a wireless service.

who does time warner own?

 

[lothar]

who does time warner own?

Time warner doesn't exist in Maryland.