AT&T agrees to buy T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion

AT&T agrees to buy T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion

www.engadget.com

Wowzers! AT&T and Deutsche Telekom have just entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of T-Mobile USA for $39 billion in cash and stocks. The combined customer base of this upcoming GSM behemoth will be 130 million humans, though the agreed deal will have to pass the usual regulatory and closing hurdles before becoming complete. The two companies estimate it'll take them 12 months to get through all the bureaucracy, but we don't have to wait that long to start discussing life with only three major US carriers. Press release follows after the break.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Whats going to happen to the consumers especially me who is customer to T-mobile. No more cheap plans? This is a shock to me, just came out of nowhere. T-mobile store close to me suddenly turns into AT&T. Well the good news I guess is that there are better phones in their shelves. Hopefully they have better service since I hear all about dropped calls or can't get a signal under AT&T.

www.engadget.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

This is just another step in the Elite to monopolize, price control, and rob the American people of choice and their pocketbook.

Just like big banks and oil companies......

Remember a day when they broke up monopolies to avoid this? Now it's going in the opposite direction. Get ready for higher prices for all of us.

Well that sucks, I specifically left AT&T for T-Mobile .. AT&T couldn't touch their rates and where I am, the reception is much better.. customer service has always been stellar too ..

Hopefully they don't touch it .. ofcourse we know they will

reply to post by deltaboy


WAIT WHAT?!! So hows does this effect my service or plan?! I have a crappy G-1. Hopefully I can cancel my service plan and get that hip new Verizon Droid X I been laying my eyes on.

I was a Suncom customer since it's beginning,
then when T=Mobile bought them out they honered my
fantastic plan through the grandfather clause
My money is on.if they buy them out, which I wonder is final,
because I heard last week they were talking to Sprint also.
They will honer your current plan through the grandfather clauses that
are in most buyouts like this.

I wonder where they are going to scrounge up that 39 billion they are borrowing?

Oh I know...by jacking up rates to all existing T-Mobile customers.

This is why we need to enforce anti-trust laws...of course...that simply doesn't happen anymore.

Originally posted by SceneIt
Remember a day when they broke up monopolies to avoid this? Now it's going in the opposite direction.

Incorrect. They have found a loophole in the monopoly laws.

Verizon, in response, will buy Sprint, and we will be down to two, and both will have similar customer bases, thus setting both of their shares of the market at 50%. But then you must factor in smaller companies, such as Boost Mobile and Cricket. This drops Verizon's and AT&T's shares of the market below 50%. I forget what the exact definition of a "monopoly" is in the United States, but it is surely higher than a 50% share of the market.

That is where the loophole comes in. As long as you - the bigger company - establish a competing company or companies, along with a few smaller front companies, your share of the market drops, thus avoiding violation of monopoly laws, while also behind the scenes still controlling the market. Standard Oil did this when it was broken up.

There's nothing that can really be done other than to push our government to stop this and allow the establishment of more competing companies separate and beyond the control of the bigger ones. We will soon be down to two wireless phone providers, so if we want to do something about it, the time to act is now.

The AT&T monopoly was broken up over 25 years ago. Seven Baby Bells (Ameritech Corporation, Bell Atlantic Corporation (Verizon), BellSouth Corporation, NYNEX Corporation, Pacific Telesis Group, Southwestern Bell Corporation, U S WEST, Inc.) were created by the AT&T breakup in 1984, four of them -- Ameritech, Bell South, Pacific Telesis and South Western Bell -- are now back under the AT&T umbrella. Centennial was also one of the pieces of Ma Bell that was purchased again by AT&T (Ma Bell). The N.W.O. that currently governs the USA, will allow the greed to perpetuate, and AT&T will be another device to not just monitor the world, but empty it’s pockets as well.

reply to post by PETROLCOIN


So? How was I incorrect?........

Never mind, you'll probably just tell me i'm wrong again then say what I just said in another way.

reply to post by SceneIt


I am saying you are incorrect in that this will become a monopoly. I am saying that legally and officially, it is not a monopoly. That's all I'm claiming you are incorrect on. No need to get your panties in a wad.

I just read about the takeover on Drudge. I've been a T-Moble user for a few years now and CANNOT STAND AT&T.

Looks like this will be just another reason to switch to Cricket afterall.

reply to post by Sanity Lost


Just ditch the cell phone altogether. Its just a tracking and listening device for the PTB anyway, and look what the waves are doing to your brain and your eye anyway!

s&f for you! thank you for bringing this to my attention. wow just wow.

I used to work for tmobile. an actual corporate owned store. It made me not want to deal with the public and strongly dislike society. (thats a whole other story though ha) anyways back to the topic.

this is one crap hole of a deal. tmobile had cheap plans from the start. i never really had a problem with reception. the company as a hole has been going down for awhile. they brought in the lady that made apple what it is today (sue nokes) and she couldnt turn it around.

they had this stupid home phone service, that they made us push onto all customers (even the ones that could not get it-didn't qualify) and spent loads of money on it. needless to say that put them in the hole. they no longer offer that.

recently they have been cutting employees hours. and taking pay cuts. I think I even read a report last year that said tmobile won't be around much longer. looks like that was right.


now on to at&t. a terrible company. I had them for a little. I was on a plan with my parents. service wasn't that great but oh well, what can you do? then we started receiving bills for phones we didn't order that were being sent to Maryland (i live in PA dont know anyone in maryland lol) needless to say my dad was pissed. the company did an investigation and low & behold, people were using OUR account info (think of all the info you submit when you sign up for a phone plan) and buying phones for themselves,or friends, or neighbors, or their neighbors dogs.

it was THEIR employees, so they had a security breech within their company (makes you feel safe as a kitten) I figured we couldnt be the ONLY people this happened to, and after a lot of research I found out no, we werent.

no need for lawyers & such, we dropped that service fast, and WILL never go back. this whole merger/deal should take a year, so I have a year to decide where I want my cell phone at. I dont like sprint (heard way to many horror stories about them)

that leaves me with verizon. oh joy *pukes on keyboard*

oh and dont forget this interesting tid bit on at&t from not to long ago
www.abovetopsecret.com...

sorry for a long post. i really hate at&t

Originally posted by PETROLCOIN

Originally posted by SceneIt
Remember a day when they broke up monopolies to avoid this? Now it's going in the opposite direction.

Incorrect. They have found a loophole in the monopoly laws.

Verizon, in response, will buy Sprint, and we will be down to two, and both will have similar customer bases, thus setting both of their shares of the market at 50%. But then you must factor in smaller companies, such as Boost Mobile and Cricket. This drops Verizon's and AT&T's shares of the market below 50%. I forget what the exact definition of a "monopoly" is in the United States, but it is surely higher than a 50% share of the market.

That is where the loophole comes in. As long as you - the bigger company - establish a competing company or companies, along with a few smaller front companies, your share of the market drops, thus avoiding violation of monopoly laws, while also behind the scenes still controlling the market. Standard Oil did this when it was broken up.

There's nothing that can really be done other than to push our government to stop this and allow the establishment of more competing companies separate and beyond the control of the bigger ones. We will soon be down to two wireless phone providers, so if we want to do something about it, the time to act is now.

Is there any confirmation that Verizon is buying Sprint? There's a full on arms race between Sprint, AT&T and Verizon all using different 4G technologies... T-Mobile was barely stepping into the arena behind the big boys, so I can understand that...

I used to work customer service for Verizon, and I remember to the day I worked there it STILL being a pain in the ass dissecting some customers because of the AT&T / Verizon / Cingular thing... They had to split up the West / East coast customer base between the 2 companies based on anti-Monopoly... basically Verizon took over the West (where they dominated in coverage strength), and AT&T dominates the East coast.

With Verizon now having Apple products... AT&T will have to be pulling some major strings to pull ahead especially if Verizon and Srpint become one to counter a monopoly... which won't be good for the consumer at all.

The old plans some Cingular customers and other, smaller carriers had that were absorbed by the big boys had were insanely awesome. Only available to those who never upgraded to newer phones / plans from the major carrier.