Stop the T-Mobile / AT&T Merger

Our opposition from the consumer perspective hasn’t gone terribly far. We wanted to get all grass-rootsy and oppose the merger, but despite hundreds of letters flowing out, it seems it’s all for naught.

Last Sunday, on the eve the wireless industry’s largest tradeshow in Orlando, AT&T announced its plan to buy rival mobile service provider T-Mobile USA for $39bn. Were this merger allowed to proceed, AT&T would control more than 40% of all US wireless subscribers. (By way of comparison, the combined T-Mobile UK and Orange will control [...]

U.S. government remedies to free up more U.S. airwaves for wireless services are not coming fast enough and were an important driver behind AT&T Inc’s (T.N) $39 billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom AG’s (DTEGn.DE) T-Mobile USA, an AT&T executive said on Wednesday. James Cicconi, the head of AT&T’s lobbying effort to acquire T-Mobile, said [...]

I am stealing a headline from The Economist on the proposed merger of AT&T with T-Mobile, USA. The proposed merger is reminiscent of monopolistic tactics of the old AT&T, and I am tired of Too Big To Fail mergers and acquisitions, which benefit corporate CEOs, stockholders and generally shady characters.

In recent weeks, AT&T (T) submitted a bid to take over T-Mobile for $39 billion. This has led to mass speculation on both sides, wondering whether the DOJ will step in and block the merger due to antitrust laws or not. On one side of the coin, those that are for the bid claim that [...]

In case you hadn’t heard, AT&T and T-Mobile could soon become one. But what does that mean for the rest of us? All good news for AT&T customers, says AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson, so, you know, take the following comments with a grain of salt. Stephenson says that if the merger is approved, the [...]

Democratic Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps this week expressed concern about the pending AT&T-T-Mobile merger, calling it a “paradigm-altering transaction.” AT&T and T-Mobile have a “very steep climb” to convince Copps that the deal is worthwhile, he said during an interview on C-SPAN’s “The Communicators.” “You will remember in the Comcast merger that I said [...]

For wireless tower owner American Tower Corp., the proposed merger between telecom giants AT&T and T-Mobile has created more uncertainty in an industry that was volatile to begin with. The potential impact for telecom equipment firm Acme Packet Inc. is also unclear, though there’s some indication the merger wouldn’t slow spending on technologies the company [...]

For those who are unaware, the wireless carrier AT&T is attempting to acquire the German cellular telephone company T-Mobile. As I will explain, this introduces a slightly new dynamic to the telecommunications industry in the United States. To put things in perspective, AT&T is the second largest wireless carrier operating in the U.S. and T-Mobile [...]

If regulators squelch AT&T’s $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile, the company will have more than just its frustrations to deal with. “In the event the transaction does not receive regulatory approval satisfactory to AT&T and the transaction does not close, AT&T will be required to pay a breakup fee of $3 (billion), transfer to [...]

With a handful of tech companies playing a bigger role in their lives, consumers are ready for antitrust regulators to show that the public interest is being protected. I’m not sure that cracking down on AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile USA will do that, but it’s an opening for the government and probably the best that [...]

AT&T Inc. is likely to face some tough hurdles in getting Federal Communications Commission approval of its $39 billion deal to buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom AG, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The report quotes an FCC official as saying the government regulator would not “rubber-stamp” the transaction, and instead [...]

It’s easy to imagine the ultimate meeting in AT&T’s corporate headquarters that finalized the decision to buy out No. 4 national wireless carrier T-Mobile. AT&T Chairman Randall Stephenson is at the head of the table. He goes around the table checking with his top executives — Wayne Watts, the general counsel; Ralph de la Vega, [...]

Consumer groups contend that the combination would create a super-AT&T that would drive up prices as it closes off competitors and stifles innovation. Policy makers say they’ll scrutinize the union and its impact on competitiveness. Here’s what to expect, if the deal goes through, according to consumer groups:

AT&T and Deutsche Telekom have already begun courting the FCC’s approval on AT&T’s proposed acquisition of Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Mobile. Deutsche Telekom CEO René Obermann and AT&T’s Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson met with FCC Commissioners Robert McDowell, Michael Copps and Meredith Attwell Baker on Wednesday.

AT&T massively reshaped the US mobile industry landscape Sunday with its planned purchase of T-Mobile USA. The stunning $39 billion acquisition will merge AT&T, the second largest wireless carrier, with T-Mobile, the fourth largest, to create the biggest mobile company in the county. This pushes Verizon back to number two and makes Sprint’s number three [...]

AT&T may be excited about its pending acquisition of T-Mobile USA, but T-Mobile users are wary of losing their beloved carrier and their cheaply priced plans. Some are threatening to run away from AT&T once their contract is up, while others are wondering if they can cancel their service without getting slapped with an early [...]

The good folks over at eWeek posted an article yesterday stating that T-Mobile customers have “expressed anxiety and outrage” over the AT&T/T-Mobile merger. As anti-AT&T sentiment builds across the web from angry T-Mobile customers, the question is, where do they go from here? Assuming that T-Mobile customers can’t stomach the notion of becoming an AT&T [...]

If the wireless deal is allowed to go ahead, it will be very bad news for competition — and customers The announcement Sunday that the company calling itself AT&T has reached a deal to buy T-Mobile’s U.S. arm was a no-brainer. Rather than building out its own network, it covets the network — and more [...]

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Several thousand jobs are likely to be cut through layoffs and attrition if the $39 billion AT&T Inc. (T) and T-Mobile merger is approved by the federal government in the next 12 to 18 months, analysts say.