Sprint Sues to Halt Merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA

[NoExpectations]

Something Fishy Here

Hmmmm....Sprint buys Nextel, attempts to buy T-Mobile but AT&T is offering T-Mobile a better price. Now Sprint cries "fowl" and says this will raise prices for all consumers.

Well, Sprint, if this truly raises prices, why would you object? You haven't made a profit in over 3 years....don't you want higher prices?

Sprint's argument about innovation and price impact as a result of this merger is not reflective of actual history. In the past 20 years, the PC Industry has gone from dozens of manufactures to about 3 or 4 big ones. Prices have come down, features have gone up. The same is true for TVs, or anything else electronic.

The track record of the DOJ is also scary. Didn't they reject the Blockbuster/Hollywood Video merger? Aren't they both out of business now (or about to) because the DOJ failed to recognize the importance of consolidation in a competitive industry?

 

[benthewraith]

Good.

The US does NOT need a GSM monopoly.

If the sale doesn't go through, they might get $39 billion from AT&T anyways. On the one hand, it could save T-Mobile, on the other hand, that's a very ****** deal. I would hate to be any legislator trying to stop this sale. If the government strikes a deal that AT&T does not have to pay the $39 billion anyways, then it will become a GSM monopoly anyways when T-Mobile inevitably crashes. T-Mobile has hemorrhaged customers the entire year, possibly even last year.

 

[NoExpectations]

Good.

The US does NOT need a GSM monopoly.

Don't worry....with LTE coming, GSM is going away. That's like saying "The US does NOT need a Type Writer Manufacturer monopoly".

 

[Wondercow]

Everything is a monopoly if you define the market narrowly enough. The mobile phone market comprises many competing technologies. Apple has a monopoly on OSX, following the same logic we should break up Apple and freely license OSX.

You must have missed the Psystar threads.

 

[MagnumOP]

haha. No, I saw those.

You must have missed the Psystar threads.

 

[jav6454]

Sprint is so desperate. T-Mobile will not survive without D-Telecom. The government, the FCC and Sprint are just trying to keep on life support an already dying company.

 

[azurebat]

I am not looking forward to the inevitable national carrier duopoly.

If AT&T ends up owning T-mobile, then it is inevitable that Verizon will eventually acquire Sprint (willing, hostile or through bankruptcy).

AT&T and Verizon will continue to pump more and more money into Washington to increasingly tilt the playing field in their favor, making it harder and harder for the regional carriers (where the exist) to compete and stifling any new competitors from entering the market.
Hello MaMa Bell.

While I do not disagree, would it not be more effective to go after the politicians accepting the money?
And that goes for all of these major corps dumping money into Washington.

I also think that the inevitability of a Verizon/Sprint merger is certainly on their minds and not helping this decision.

 

[Naimfan]

I would hate to be any legislator trying to stop this sale.

Legislators can't stop the sale. Did you mean the courts?

 

[Antares]

AT&T is like the Taco Bell of the cellular business. If the Carrier Wars happen, all that will be left is AT&T.

 

[karma13612]

Correct. I don't want to see AT&T spending money talking about 4G when they still serve us with 2G. You got cash? Bring everybody up to 3G.

I'm not sure why you are getting thumbs-down votes. If I understand you correctly, you just wish AT&T would finally invest in their infrastructure so everyone was at least at 3G. I agree in that respect.

In general, I am fed up with telecomm giants who keep advertising to get larger market shares in same urban geographic areas. They don't care about increasing their geographic service areas. Cable doesn't want to expand into more rural areas. They just keep advertising to get more customers in their current areas.

This country is so underserved in the rural areas, it isn't funny. And I cannot understand why.

Oh wait, yes I do. It's because corporations run America. Forget all the FCC and FTC and Consumer Protection laws. It all boils down to who can lobby for the most support in Washington. If the politicians were as underserved with their TV service and phone service as we people in rural areas, they would think twice about mergers like this.

 

[macUser2007]

i have a 4 line family plan on AT&T and every time i price out everyone else it's always the same price. the only time it's cheaper is if you are single

Good for you....

However, I used to pay about $250+ per month for two iPhones on AT&T, while now I pay about $140 per month for two Google Nexus S phones on T-Mobile. Now I also get more minutes and unlimited texts (200 texts with AT&T).

But that's besides the point. The point is, if AT&T takes over T-Mobile US, there will be ONLY ONE national GSM carrier.

Get it?

 

[goobot]

t-mobile is dead, at least let att save their customers and workers along use their network to improve on their own.

 

[macUser2007]

t-mobile is dead, at least let att save their customers and workers alone use their network to improve on their own.

Right.... You know who actually owns T-Mobile, I hope?

Also, it's worth remembering that Apple used to be "dead."

 

[goobot]

But that's besides the point. The point is, if AT&T takes over T-Mobile US, there will be ONLY ONE national GSM carrier.

Get it?

That means NOTHING. You wana know why? Because it doesn't matter how the service is delivered or given it is that it is. Do you think any average person cares if att or vz is gsm or cmda? No. The iPhone was at once the only mulit-touch phone, it must have been a monopoly! No there are other cell phones. Just cause vz and sprint CHOOSE to be cmda isn't att.'s fault and it doesn't mean anything if there is one cmda or one gsm company because they both do the same thing...

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Hmmmm....Sprint buys Nextel, attempts to buy T-Mobile but AT&T is offering T-Mobile a better price. Now Sprint cries "fowl" and says this will raise prices for all consumers.

Well, Sprint, if this truly raises prices, why would you object? You haven't made a profit in over 3 years....don't you want higher prices?

Sprint's argument about innovation and price impact as a result of this merger is not reflective of actual history. In the past 20 years, the PC Industry has gone from dozens of manufactures to about 3 or 4 big ones. Prices have come down, features have gone up. The same is true for TVs, or anything else electronic.

The track record of the DOJ is also scary. Didn't they reject the Blockbuster/Hollywood Video merger? Aren't they both out of business now (or about to) because the DOJ failed to recognize the importance of consolidation in a competitive industry?

Difference is Sprint buying T-Mobile would not be as bad as AT&T buying them. Lets assume Sprint bought them up. That would leave us with 3 big players in the Cell phone market.

AT&T buys them up that leaves us really 2 big players and Sprint is just not large enough to compete with them.

As for blockbuster and Hollywood video.They both are either failed or falling apart because they failed to adapt to the changing market. The two of them merging would not of saved them. It would of only delayed the fact that they were going under. They waited to long to get into the online streaming market.

Now what T-Mobile USA needs is someone to invest and more really buy them up because T-Mobile Germany refuses to invest in the company so it is lagging behind.
T-Mobile also suffers from the fact that they got screwed by AT&T and Verizon. Verizon bought up the 3G frequencies that the rest of the world uses. This forced AT&T to get is 850mhz to get added to the GSM standard. T-Mobile was locked out of both of them as was forced to go with the 1700mhz and have it added to the GSM standard but they are the only one who uses it and to top it off it is rather patch worked. T-Mobile got screwed. The other countries in the world got everyone on a standard frequencies and more or less prevented this locking out that AT&T and Verizon are able to do.

 

[MacinDoc]

The point is, if AT&T takes over T-Mobile US, there will be ONLY ONE national GSM carrier.

Get it?

That matters even less than the fact that only one company makes iOS phones. Competition using different tech is still competition. Besides which, as others have pointed out, GSM is a dying technology, and will be irrelevant in the next few years.

 

[JAT]

I really dont get where this Sprint love fest is coming from

In the last few months there have been several policy changes and Sprint is now about evenly priced with ATT and Verizon.

First they eliminated there upgrade policy which allowed you to upgrade your phone every year if you were on there 69.99 plan, now you must wait 2 years.

etc..

I have never understood it. I have looked at Sprint every couple years, and never have seen them cheaper than Tmobile except for a few specific plans earlier in 2011, and that was only until this summer, when Tmob dropped some prices and added this country's first family data plan. Now, I haven't looked at them every month, every year. But certainly enough to see they were not that cheap.

 

[rjohnstone]

This country is so underserved in the rural areas, it isn't funny. And I cannot understand why.

There's a simple answer to your question... MONEY.
The cost to build out in rural areas would make the service too expensive for many places.
It's not a simple matter of putting up a tower, you need the backhaul infrastructure in place to support the towers.
That requires cable... miles and miles of cable that has to be put on a pole or buried.
Microwave relays work as well, but the throughput degrades rapidly, so you need a lot of them.

 

[Ammo]

Sprint is suing because Sprint wants its free lunch.

The AT&T/T-Mobile merger will go through. It HAS to. T-Mobile will be out of business if it doesn't.

However, AT&T won't be getting ALL of T-Mobile. The rest will go to Sprint, much like how Verizon didn't get ALL of Alltel. In places where AT&T has strong coverage, Sprint will receive T-Mobile's spectrum and towers. In places where AT&T is weak and is at a strong disadvantage to Verizon, AT&T will get T-Mobile's towers.

All this "AT&T will be the ONLY GSM carrier left!" BS is a non-issue because the phones are locked to the networks anyway.

And besides, if the rumors of a "world phone" iPhone are true, then you can buy it unlocked and go where you please.

If Sprint gets the iPhone you can say goodbye to their budget pricing (which really isn't all that budget when you get past the fine print) and unlimited data. Their smartphone/dumbphone mix lets them get away with it now...they'll have to cap eventually if the iPhone comes to Sprint.

Hell, if you want to talk pricing, the fact that AT&T gives you unlimited calling to any cell phone with the texting package brings the pricing more in line with Sprint because you don't need the larger minute packages anymore.

 

[MacCurry]

I believe TMO USA made $900 million in profit last year, although they are loosing customers, but with the Shamsung Galaxy S2, Hercules, Nexus Prime and other phones, possibly iPhone 5, they may get customers back. But the problem is the parent company Deutsch Telekom wants to unload TMO and ATT was giving them a good price. If TMO USA gets iPhone 5 & all the other new android phones, they may have a chance, iff DT changes their mind and keeps TMO USA.

But wait, there's more! TMO is looking for up to $6 billion from ATT for the merger falling through and $39 billion if it did go through, so perhaps they thought it out with so many exciting new phones coming in the next several months.

There is also a political angle to this. ATT is Texas based and they are a BIG contributor to Rick Perry. Given Obama's lack of popularity, ATT may hold up the merger in court until Jan. 2013 when Perry assumes office of POTUS. At that point the Perry administration drops the DoJ objections and the FCC rubber stamps the deal and it goes through!

 

[butterfly0fdoom]

ATT's only option is to buy new capacity(like T-Mobile) because there are too many restrictions on building new towers. There are several large cities in the US where it takes more than two years to build a new tower.

It is probably cheaper and faster for them to buy T-mobile than build out new infrastructure themselves, even given all of the legal hassle surrounding anti-trust issues.

Buying T-Mobile is the expensive way, but it's also significantly faster. While it generally takes about 2 years on average for any infrastructure upgrades to be rolled out and activated, in dense areas (particularly those with aesthetic codes such as SF), it can take closer to 5 years at least.

Sprint is so desperate. T-Mobile will not survive without D-Telecom. The government, the FCC and Sprint are just trying to keep on life support an already dying company.

Sprint's just being pissy because they wanted to buy T-Mobile.

Also, it's worth remembering that Apple used to be "dead."

In T-Mobile's case, nothing's going to save them. Their parent company has cut them off, they're hemorrhaging customers consistently and constantly, and they have no network upgrade plans beyond HSPA technology. They're going to get bought out or they're going to collapse; both will result in the same outcome.

Difference is Sprint buying T-Mobile would not be as bad as AT&T buying them. Lets assume Sprint bought them up. That would leave us with 3 big players in the Cell phone market.

Not necessarily. Considering how badly Sprint slipped and fell after buying Nextel and trying to integrate their networks, Sprint buying T-Mobile isn't necessarily any better than AT&T buying Sprint. Both situations involve T-Mobile customers needing new phones and, with Sprint increasing fees, will likely result in the competitive landscape not deviating much from its current state as far as pricing and "innovation" are concerned.

Now what T-Mobile USA needs is someone to invest and more really buy them up because T-Mobile Germany refuses to invest in the company so it is lagging behind.
T-Mobile also suffers from the fact that they got screwed by AT&T and Verizon. Verizon bought up the 3G frequencies that the rest of the world uses. This forced AT&T to get is 850mhz to get added to the GSM standard. T-Mobile was locked out of both of them as was forced to go with the 1700mhz and have it added to the GSM standard but they are the only one who uses it and to top it off it is rather patch worked. T-Mobile got screwed. The other countries in the world got everyone on a standard frequencies and more or less prevented this locking out that AT&T and Verizon are able to do.

Incorrect. The CDMA series (cdmaOne, CDMA2000, and EV-DO) that Verizon and Sprint use only operates on the 850/1900 bands; there are no 900/2100 bands deployed for cellular usage in the US (in fact, most of the Americas, North and South, uses the 850/1900 bands for GSM/UMTS as opposed to the 900/2100 bands used in the rest of the world). T-Mobile and some Canadian carriers were stuck with the AWS (1700/2100) bands, however.

 

[rjohnstone]

I believe TMO USA made $900 million in profit last year, although they are loosing customers, but with the Shamsung Galaxy S2, Hercules, Nexus Prime and other phones, possibly iPhone 5, they may get customers back. But the problem is the parent company Deutsch Telekom wants to unload TMO and ATT was giving them a good price. If TMO USA gets iPhone 5 & all the other new android phones, they may have a chance, iff DT changes their mind and keeps TMO USA.

But wait, there's more! TMO is looking for up to $6 billion from ATT for the merger falling through and $39 billion if it did go through, so perhaps they thought it out with so many exciting new phones coming in the next several months.

There is also a political angle to this. ATT is Texas based and they are a BIG contributor to Rick Perry. Given Obama's lack of popularity, ATT may hold up the merger in court until Jan. 2013 when Perry assumes office of POTUS. At that point the Perry administration drops the DoJ objections and the FCC rubber stamps the deal and it goes through!

You're missing the fact the if T-Mobile's value drops below a certain point, AT&T doesn't have to pay them anything.
So it will be in AT&T's best interest to fight this in court.
T-Mobile USA's value is dropping like a stone every day.
That $900 million they made last year is less than $500 million this year and falling.
DT's own board wants nothing to do with T-Mobile USA. They cut off funding and any future deployment plans. They have 0 plans for LTE.

 

[Naimfan]

There is also a political angle to this. ATT is Texas based and they are a BIG contributor to Rick Perry. Given Obama's lack of popularity, ATT may hold up the merger in court until Jan. 2013 when Perry assumes office of POTUS. At that point the Perry administration drops the DoJ objections and the FCC rubber stamps the deal and it goes through!

You have a definite future writing comedy.

 

[rodriguise]

cheap bassturds

I'd like to see AT&T show HOW their prior mergers and acquisitions have lowered prices and improved service. Oh, right--they can't. Never mind.

I'm sure they can show how they lowered costs.

 

[Naimfan]

I'm sure they can show how they lowered costs.

How do you mean "costs?" Do you mean the costs of the combined companies in providing service? Or do you mean the amount consumers pay?

AT&T possibly could, but I wouldn't be too sure - I've been through mergers, etc., and the cost savings have not come close to the predictions.

Besides, AT&T is trying to present the acquisition as one that will lower PRICES, not costs; that it will "improve" service; and thus be good for consumers. I don't think they can demonstrate that, because they will be eliminating one of the competitors in the market.