T-Mobile and Sprint Aiming to Close Merger as Early as April 1

[Mr. Donahue]

I dont know what T mobile is doing but i feel my cell service is starting to slow and suffer already. I also notice my monthly bill is increasing by $1 every month or two. This is how AT&T lost me.

 

[4jasontv]

It's all the same until it suddenly isn't. Like you, people didn't see the disruptive power of innovations like cellular and VoIP, and quoted the same problems over incumbents: too expensive and poor quality.

I still don't understand your point. Were you hijacking my examples to show agreement with me?

 

[konqerror]

I still don't understand your point. Were you hijacking my examples to show agreement with me?

Nope. I'm saying you're falling into the common trap of saying that new technologies suck until suddenly they don't and cause a dramatic shift.

 

[bigjnyc]

I’m surprised they’re keeping the T-Mobile branding rather than going with “New Sprint”.

First of all, Sprint is just a cool name for a mobile network because it implies speed!

Second, T-Mobile is a foreign brand started by Deutsche Telekom. In this era of Trump, you’d think there’d be more pride in American brands. What happened to “America First”?

Brand perception. Sprint has been circling the drain for a few years and is associated with bad service, and a cheap discount brand desperate for subscribers

T-mobile on the other hand has been up and coming with their industry disruptive implementations. Taking on the big 2. They are seen as the new hip kid up and coming shaking up the industry.
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I dont know what T mobile is doing but i feel my cell service is starting to slow and suffer already. I also notice my monthly bill is increasing by $1 every month or two. This is how AT&T lost me.

LMAO! they won't complete the merger until April 1st but they are already slowing down your service? LOL

 

[smirking]

That’s how it is here where I live. I’m hoping for the same thing! It would be awesome.

My house is perfectly placed in a cellular black hole where the only viable service is Verizon and Sprint even those are not ironclad. I've been on AT&T and hated it. I've really liked T-Mobile, but it gets almost zero signal in my house so it's just not an option. If the merger means that their coverage areas also merge on a 1 to 1 basis, I might finally have a realistic option that's not the pricey Verizon.

 

[TEG]

Company with no coverage, and the company with no bandwidth merging... Yay.

I just hate how much T-Mobile has ruined the US Mobile services. They have caused every company to raise prices in the name of "choice", and everyone is worse off because of it.

 

[Techwatcher]

Now for the merger for AT&T and Verizon.

This would end up with AT&T taking over Verizon as they have the superior GSM network. CDMA will never take over GSM lol.

 

[winston1236]

That’s how it is here where I live. I’m hoping for the same thing! It would be awesome.

As someone who has used Google Fi since 2015 (runs on TMobile/Sprint) I can say with great confidence, don't expect any change. Their coverages really don't overlap in a significant way in the real world. It's always one has decent signal and the other doesn't. And neither is great to begin with if you travel by road very much or leave the city/interstate.

 

[Black Magic]

I have no idea what this means, but I've always had Verizon tho I've been eyeballing T-Mobile. Was always worried about service, this makes it at least better I guess.

It will be at least 3 years before anyone using T-Mobile will see any new offerings. The first year will be assessments and layoffs. 2nd year will be the start of synergy. 3rd year they will be rolling out new service offerings. I wouldn't hold your breathe on this merger generating great wireless service. It's possible but unlikely...

 

[BuffaloTF]

This would end up with AT&T taking over Verizon as they have the superior GSM network. CDMA will never take over GSM lol.

What is this? 2001? Or was that simply a sarcastic throwback to it?

CDMA and GSM are both dead. Gone. Kaput.

GSM died at EDGE, it was replaced with W-CDMA (marketed as UMTS and later 3G and rolled into HSPA for data). Verizon ended new activations on CDMA in December and turns it off forever this December.

 

[doctor-don]

Not really. Sprint was a completely independent company formed by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SPRint) to sell services on their internal communication network, and to lay fiber along railroad tracks, as a result of AT&T's breakup and the opened competitive market.

T-Mobile US came from Voicestream and several other independent carriers; the majority owner is actually Deutsche Telekom, the former German government phone monopoly.

AT&T Wireless was the consolidation of a number of non-wireline carriers, largely in the Cellular One brand and was partially owned by the Japanese NTT DoCoMo. AT&T Wireless was then taken over by Cingular, which was a Baby Bell and consisted of former Bell System properties.

Verizon Wireless was actually 45% owned by the British Vodafone. A large part of Verizon Wireless was GTE's cellular systems. GTE was an independent phone company which existed in parallel but was unaffiliated with the Bell System

And Verizon bought / took over MCI. MCI increased my phone bill from $27/month to $55/month, so I cancelled the contract and won't have anything to do with Verizon. Unfortunately, they also absorbed Yahoo which has led to all sorts of problems with news content on my computer - not to mention their OATH takeover and policy.
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Since 1997, I have been customer of the company that has become T-Mobile. I have had a few problems, but not enough to change to another wireless carrier, especially not AT&T or Verizon.
Anyone who thinks a merger could happen between AT&T and Verizon does not understand the government policy on monopolies.

 

[m0sher]

As a sprint customer with work discounts in Arizona, Our area coverage up north is lousy but with T-Mobil’s the coverage will expand. Sprint alone was having a hard time competing in some states.

AT&T and Verizon are already huge conglomerates they don’t need any mergers. It would be a ma bell if those two merged.

Now they’re all about the same after this merger. I’m ok with it.

 

[madrich]

I have had t-mobile since I hacked the original iPhone. It’s was and is a prepaid legacy plan since I rarely use the service, with no data plan. I hope they continue to grandfather my plan.

 

[cmaier]

This would end up with AT&T taking over Verizon as they have the superior GSM network. CDMA will never take over GSM lol.

It’s all LTE nowadays. You’re fighting yesterday’s battles

 

[bigfatipod]

Not really. Sprint was a completely independent company formed by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SPRint) to sell services on their internal communication network, and to lay fiber along railroad tracks, as a result of AT&T's breakup and the opened competitive market.

T-Mobile US came from Voicestream and several other independent carriers; the majority owner is actually Deutsche Telekom, the former German government phone monopoly.

AT&T Wireless was the consolidation of a number of non-wireline carriers, largely in the Cellular One brand and was partially owned by the Japanese NTT DoCoMo. AT&T Wireless was then taken over by Cingular, which was a Baby Bell and consisted of former Bell System properties.

Verizon Wireless was actually 45% owned by the British Vodafone. A large part of Verizon Wireless was GTE's cellular systems. GTE was an independent phone company which existed in parallel but was unaffiliated with the Bell System

Didn't ATT Wireless stem from McCaw Cellular, which was rooted from att corp originally?

And although Vodafone had a substantial investment in Verizon, it's still connected back to Bell Atlantic.

Let me know if I'm mistaken here..I google'd some and (think) I am recalling things correctly

 

[konqerror]

Didn't ATT Wireless stem from McCaw Cellular, which was rooted from att corp originally?

And although Vodafone had a substantial investment in Verizon, it's still connected back to Bell Atlantic.

Let me know if I'm mistaken here..I google'd some and (think) I am recalling things correctly

My understanding is Cellular One was friends with the post-breakup AT&T but not owned until the purchase. Celluar One was the non-wireline A-side operator in its markets.

Verizon itself was the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE, the latter being the biggest independent.

 

[bigjnyc]

I just hate how much T-Mobile has ruined the US Mobile services. They have caused every company to raise prices in the name of "choice", and everyone is worse off because of it.

Huh? really? I thought it was the other way around..... Prices for unlimited data plans have gone down significantly since T-Mobile started their uncarrier antics. Before it was super expensive to get a plan with 10-15gbs of data... Now its a lot cheaper across the board to get an unlimited family plan.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Not really. Sprint was a completely independent company formed by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SPRint) to sell services on their internal communication network, and to lay fiber along railroad tracks, as a result of AT&T's breakup and the opened competitive market.

T-Mobile US came from Voicestream and several other independent carriers; the majority owner is actually Deutsche Telekom, the former German government phone monopoly.

AT&T Wireless was the consolidation of a number of non-wireline carriers, largely in the Cellular One brand and was partially owned by the Japanese NTT DoCoMo. AT&T Wireless was then taken over by Cingular, which was a Baby Bell and consisted of former Bell System properties.

Verizon Wireless was actually 45% owned by the British Vodafone. A large part of Verizon Wireless was GTE's cellular systems. GTE was an independent phone company which existed in parallel but was unaffiliated with the Bell System

I remember when Sprint was only a landline long distance company.