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AT&T to acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 billion

By | March 20, 2011, 11:49am PDT

Summary: What does AT&T do to compete with Verizon Wireless? It buys T-Mobile USA for $39 billion in cash and stock, that’s what. The two companies have entered into a “definitive agreement” for the acquisition that has been approved by the boards of both companies.

What does AT&T do to compete with Verizon Wireless? It buys T-Mobile USA for $39 billion in cash and stock, that’s what. The two companies have entered into a “definitive agreement” for the acquisition that has been approved by the boards of both companies. The move comes at a time when demand for mobile broadband in the U.S. is strong, strengthening AT&T’s ability to meet the demand. The deal gives Deutsche Telekom, owner of T-Mobile, an 8 percent ownership stake in AT&T.

AT&T is in the process of building out its LTE network to compete with that of Verizon, and expects the T-Mobile infrastructure to help that process. T-Mobile has no clear path to LTE, so the merger is a good fit for it. T-Mobile customers should finally be able to get the iPhone after the deal.

The acquisition is subject to approval of the government, and is expected to be complete in 12 months.

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T-Mobile, AT&T Corp., James Kendrick

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long.

Disclosure

James Kendrick

James Kendrick has no affiliations or relationships that need to be disclosed.

Biography

James Kendrick

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long. Prior to joining ZDNet, James was the Founding Editor of jkOnTheRun, a CNET Top 100 Tech Blog that was acquired by GigaOM in 2008 and is now part of that prestigious tech network. James' writing has appeared in many print publications: Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazine, Information Week and Laptop Magazine to name a few. James' coverage of the mobile technology sector has regularly appeared in the New York Times, Salon.com and CNN/ Fortune online. Not just a writer, James has filmed numerous video reviews and how-tos that have garnered well over a million viewers. He has appeared on local news segments and been interviewed by the Associated Press on mobile technology topics. Additionally, James has been podcasting about mobile technology for years.

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RE: AT&T to acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 billion
BambooKane 20th Mar 2011
AT&T authorizes third party billing from rip-off companies that provide nothing but a monthly charge to your phone bill. The AT&T disclaimer on the bill says to review your bill. And then they excuse themselves by saying those bogus charges you find on your bill are "provided as a service to the company identified". AT&T allowed this several years ago on an account I managed - a rip-off! The reason is evidently because AT&T makes a tiny commission on those unauthorized charges. Hear me AT&T -- clean it up or I'm jumping from T-Mobile, a good company, to Verizon.
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RE: AT&T to acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 billion
tgschmidt 20th Mar 2011
Looks like Sprint better partner with Verizon now.
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Sprint even though your service is not great
Uralbas 20th Mar 2011
You probably have a new customer in me.

I refuse to be an ATT customer. Its the WORST COMPANY from a customer stand point of view.

Deuttsche Telelom sold us out! We should all leave TMobile asap. Unless you want to be charged extra for an inferior service.

ATT provides the following benefits to its customers:

-- A service so poor, that is not even allowed in third world countries
-- You will pay dearly
-- You wont be able to user your hotspot unless you pay up what ATT wants.
-- Your Android cap will be limited to make iPhone look good so your speed will drop from 5K to 0.5K Mbps
-- You stand a good chance of been overcharged without noticed for services you dont comsume.
-- You will have to review your bill every month to see if its accurate.

Advice to ALL TMobile customers, LEAVE while you can!
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RE: AT&T to acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 billion
heredavid 20th Mar 2011
@Uralbas - &^%$^%, I also left AT&T for T-mobile, guess it is time to leave T-mobile too, sadly....
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RE: AT&T to acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 billion
Playdrv4me 20th Mar 2011
Sprint is ****ed.
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RE: AT&T to acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 billion
4224 20th Mar 2011
Oh well. There is still Virgin and Metro (as pretty good substitutes wink.
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RE: AT&T to acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 billion
hoaxoner 20th Mar 2011
So much for consumer choice.
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RE: AT&T to acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 billion
statuskwo5 20th Mar 2011
I am reminded of recent T-Mobile commercials portraying AT&T as a slow, undependable service compared to T-Mobile's 4G network. Now they are getting bought by AT&T. Oh well...
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RE: AT&T to acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 billion
Rama.NET 20th Mar 2011
@statuskwo5
Now that would be funny if they still run those ads. wink
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RE: AT&T to acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 billion
Rama.NET Updated - 20th Mar 2011
This has both pros and cons.
pros:
t-mo customers get iOS devices
at&t customers have more choice of devices on Android and better Windows Phone 7 Device.
at&t can have better HSPA+, because T-Mo HSPA+ is better than AT&T
T-Mo customers will get LTE after all.
Cons:
T-Mo customers will lose the cheaper plans and will start paying high tariff of AT&T
There is every chance by AT&T to pull the plugs of 1700 bandwidth
There is every chance of retiring some of the best phones lines that t-mobile currently offering, good examples are Nexus line, HD7, myTouch etc.
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RE: AT&T to acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 billion
BambooKane 20th Mar 2011
AT&T authorizes third party billing from rip-off companies that provide nothing but a monthly charge to your phone bill. The AT&T disclaimer on the bill says to review your bill. And then they excuse themselves by saying those bogus charges you find on your bill are "provided as a service to the company identified". AT&T allowed this several years ago on an account I managed - a rip-off! The reason is evidently because AT&T makes a tiny commission on those unauthorized charges. Hear me AT&T -- clean it up or I'm jumping from T-Mobile, a good company, to Verizon.

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