Rant: I switched to T-Mobile to get AWAY from AT&T!
Image originally from Gizmodo
Dear T-Mobile: Thanks for nothing.
If you haven't heard yet, AT&T has acquired T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion in cash and stock. It's been presumed that AT&T had done this to buy a 4G network rather than spend more effort building out its own.
There's just one problem for me. I left AT&T last year because I was fed up with the terrible AT&T service, along with poor customer support. When I moved to California in 1999, I switched from my analog AT&T service to AT&T's GSM service. In 2004, Cingular acquired AT&T Wireless. I was quite happy with it, although some other people had issues with the service. Things were fine until the SBC/AT&T merger. The service immediately began to suffer in terms of quality.
After being overcharged for handsets, call waiting, text messaging, and various other forms of being nickel-and-dimed to death, I chose to switch to T-Mobile. Their coverage wasn't as good, but the phone service quality was excellent and the customer support was excellent. They always went the extra mile for me.
With AT&T, I can expect the T-Mobile service to degrade, customer support to be switched over to one that doesn't care, and billing options being changed and costs increased with little warning once the contract ends.
Considering that I was willing to eat an early termination charge from AT&T to switch my cell number over to T-Mobile, this acquisition should be considered a violation of my user contract with T-Mobile. I deserve the option to be let out of my contract with T-Mobile.
Hello, Verizon? Can you hear me now?
Update:
T-Mobile posted a Q&A about the merger on their website. Basically it boils down to them claiming that T-Mobile will remain an independent company. If that were so, then there would be no need for a merger.
Cingular acquired AT&T Wireless in 2004. They originally shared the GSM 1900 network with T-Mobile--an arrangement which was dissolved after the AT&T acquisition. With the merger of SBC and AT&T, the wireless company was transitioned to AT&T Mobility.