This buyout is far from over as its getting a whole lot of resistance, more so than I've ever seen. The AT&T/Cingular buyout was not a popular buy out, but it met little resistance from the FCC and DOJ. Then the Sprint/Nextel was a joke as nobody really cared for Nextel. It wasn't until a little known buyout between Alltel and Midwestern Wireless that had the FCC cracking down. This buyout created the largest wireless network per square mile of coverage. While this may not seem significant on the surface, Alltel now controlled much of the roaming negotiations in rural America and ticked off all three of the major carriers. Verizon paid well for roaming rights to Alltel, which spun off the "Can you hear me now" campaign touting the best coverage in America. Of course, ATT followed up with their silly "best coverage in the world" campaign. Alltel CEO swore he would never sell to Verizon. I believe he saw the writing on the wall and sold the company to a group of private investors. When the stock market crashed, the banks called in their loans and were forced to sell. Verizon stepped in and purchased Alltel, but the FCC required them to divest a huge chunk of the company. ATT bought some of it and there is still a chunk that remains as Alltel that Verizon and ATT are not allowed to buy. That said, if ATT manages to go ahead with this merger, the FCC will cut this company up so much that it will probably not be worth the buyout. It will be interesting to see what this new FCC chairmen will allow to happen.
Have any of you guys seen the proposal AT&T sent to the FCC in regards to this purchase? They admit more than a couple of times that they need Tmobile and they have more than serious problems with all the bandwidth customers use. In some parts it's almost as if they're begging. Let me mirror it. http://www.herosh.com/download/8375719/ATT_T.pdf.html
http://www.theverge.com/2011/11/24/...-mobile-takeover-application-from-fcc-records Since they withdrew, now Tmobile gets 4 billion However, plan B is apparently to divest 40 percent of T-Mobile. They think this will get approval. I don't think 40 percent of T-Mobile is even enough to make up another #4 carrier.
I wish a foreign carrier with big bucks would just buy T-Mobile. They need a foreign with lots of capital to upgrade the network. Price increases are bad enough with 4 carriers. It can only get worse, if T-Mobile is dead. I wonder if any Canadian carriers can buy T-Mobile. I don't know anything about the Canucks.
I was against this merger from the beginning and never thought it would be approved. I haven't wanted T-Mobile USA to merge with Sprint either. But it's apparent T-Mobile USA can't survive without a merger or huge capital infusion. Merging with Sprint, even though it would be very messy, might be their only hope.
Well the irony is AT&T might just end up getting some of T mobile's assets once it dies. The spectrum is possibly their greatest want/need at this momentum. The merger is happening no matter what, whether it be by the hands of an official merger or by an acquisition of a dead T mobile... Sprint interests me, but in the grand scheme of things, it will eventually just be a field of two...
the entire US wireless industry is jacked up. they should just sell phones at an affordable price and stop gouging us on data plans and BS. the hell with all of them. if AT&T would at least a dollar on fixing their network...
Oh yeah? I had no idea; apologies. Sprint and T-mo will work out as good as Sprint and Nextel I'm guessing I have to stay with T-mobile until Feb 2013... I hope Sprint still has their unlimited plan then
This is what cannot be allowed to happen. If AT&T buys T-Mobile, there is no legit argument to stop Verizon from buying Sprint after the Big 2 beat Sprint into submission. Either T-Mobile has to recover and become viable because another party (a big cable company, Google or whoever) takes it off Deutsche Telekom's hands or it merges with Sprint to miraculously create a national 3rd carrier that can survive long term.
why would they let sprint merge with verizon after tmobile merges with ATT? wouldn't it be even harder than it is now?
Maybe so. But I'm thinking Verizon and the new AT&T would pulverize Sprint in short order and Verizon will buy them on their death bed with little opposition.
http://thecellphonejunkie.com/2012/01/08/deutsche-telekom-is-working-on-the-sale-of-t-mobile-towers/ Now T-Mobile is thinking of selling all of their towers for more money lol
