Tag: T-Mobile

All 4G Smartphones Free At T-Mobile For One-Day Valentine’s Sale

Looking for a gift for your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day? Are they on a diet or allergic to roses? T-Mobile thinks that nothing says I love you like a new phone.

This Saturday, February 11th, for one day only, T-Mobile is offering all of their 4G smartphones for free with a 2-year contract. This deal includes the Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Amaze 4G, Nokia Lumia 710, Balckberry Bold 9900 4G, HTC Wildfire 4G, and more. The deal also includes a selection of tablets like the T-Mobile springBoard with Google.

The “free” part will come in the form of a mail-in rebate when you sign up for a qualifying “Classic Plan.”

T-Mobile is promoting this with an ad campaign, and you can watch the video below. Full press release is available after the clip (so you can scour it for all the little fine print).

PRESS RELEASE: In the spirit of the season, T-Mobile USA, Inc. will show consumers lots of love with another jaw-dropping promotion for its “Valentine’s Day Sale.” For one day only, Saturday, Feb. 11, T-Mobile will give customers the chance to get their hands on the latest 4G smartphones and select tablets for free, making a perfect gift for loved ones or themselves. The promotion includes T-Mobile’s fastest 4G smartphones and select tablets running on America’s Largest 4G Network® such as the Samsung Galaxy S™ II1 and the T-Mobile® SpringBoard™ with Google™.

New and existing eligible customers can take advantage of this deal receiving their device for free after a mail-in rebate card when they sign up for a new two-year contract on any qualifying Classic Plan™2 or for a $0.00 down payment after mail-in rebate card when signing up on a qualifying Unlimited Value™3 plan.

“T-Mobile has a commitment to make the 4G experience affordable and accessible to everyone, so this sweet deal on smartphones and tablets is our Valentine’s gift to consumers,” said John Clelland, senior vice president of marketing, T-Mobile USA. “No matter where loved ones live, T-Mobile wants to bring them closer with unlimited talking, photo sharing, video chatting, texting, and more.”

A recent online Omnibus survey4 with Harris Interactive found that four-in-ten (44%) of first time smartphone buyers in 2012 say the cost of the data plan associated with the smartphone is the most influential reason they have not purchased a smartphone before. The value for customers extends beyond the “Valentine’s Day Sale” as T-Mobile offers the best rate plan pricing on America’s Largest 4G Network.

The following is a sample of the exceptional devices available during the “Valentine’s Day Sale” if customers choose to sign up on a two-year Classic Plan™:

The “Valentine’s Day Sale” will be available on Feb.11 at participating T-Mobile retail stores nationwide and T-Mobile will support the promotion with a national television advertising campaign. For more information about T-Mobile’s “Valentine’s Day Sale” and details about qualifying plans, visit http://bit.ly/z36M9c.

1 Devices must be supported with the following data requirements: voice phones: 200 MB data; most smartphones: 2 GB data; 42 Mbps devices (Amaze and Galaxy S II): 5 GB data.

2Standard upgrade eligibility rules apply for existing Classic customers that stay on a Classic plan; standard migration fees will apply for existing Classic customers that switch to a Value plan and have less than 18 months contract tenure.

3 $0 down payment offer not applicable in RI, CT, or Miami-Dade County, FL; customers in these regions will be eligible for a different offer. Equipment installment plans: On approved credit and 0 percent APR. Down payment and unfinanced portion required at purchase. Remaining balance paid in 20 monthly installments. Total post-rebate price of each device equals down payment amount plus monthly payment amount times 20.

4This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of T-Mobile USA from December 20-22, 2011 among 2,573 adults ages 18 and older, among whom 235 will be first time smartphone buyers in 2012, and 988 are current smartphone users who will remain smartphone users in 2012. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact [email protected].

5 Mail-in rebate not applicable in RI, CT, or Miami-Dade County, FL.

February 9, 2012
Peek Ending US T-Mobile Service For Twitter & Email Handsets

Did you ever use a Peek, the dedicated email and Twitter machines that launched two years ago? Are you still using one? You may want to sit down for this news then.

Engadget is reporting that users of the handsets are claiming their Peek devices stopped working on January 30. Some users are understandably upset as they paid $299 for the device with “lifelong service” on the T-Mobile network.

Some users had received emails about the shutdown of service for Peek devices, but obviously not all of them got the memo.

Peek’s CEO, Amol Sarva, made a statement telling customers that the devices have been abandoned. They are “seriously old” after all since two years is a long time in Internet years.

To lessen the pain for those who paid $299, users still got 28 months of quality service from a machine that could only send tweets. Those who were paying $19.95 a month for the service, however, must be feeling pretty silly now

The company, as their Web site indicates, is fully committed to their new “genius cloud” service instead of the hardware market.

Sarva explains that the company could not maintain the Peek network forever for just a few users. The adoption of their software by already established phone manufacturers has made the Peek-made device obsolete. They have no plans to offer a new device to replace the old defunct ones.

A somewhat happy end to this story, however, comes from The Verge who reports that Sarva is offering free Peek devices they have lying around to interested hackers. Sarva says that the notion of “a pre-built and tested portrait QWERTY device with a jog dial, QVGA display, ARMv7 processor, and a GSM radio is, in many ways, a hacker’s dream.” He’ll even throw in some tools to sweeten the deal.

Those interested should contact Sarva himself at [email protected]. He’ll hook you up with one of the company’s developers for a free Peek.

February 2, 2012
Over A Third Of iPhone Buyers Switched From Android, BlackBerry

The iPhone 4S launch in October was met with high level of demand that has become customary for the launch of new Apple products. Of course, not all of those people lining up for new iPhones are current iPhone users, raising the question of where they all come from.

Consumer Intelligence Research Partners has released a study today that sheds some light on the issue. According to their data, 18% of those who bought the iPhone 4S at its launch in October were switching from other smartphone platforms like BlackBerry and Android. For October, November, and December 2011 combined, that number jumps to 36%.

Additionally, CIRP’s data showed that the iPhone has had a significant impact on the market shares of the major carriers. Three of the four major carriers – AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint – carry the iPhone. The fourth, T-Mobile, does not. CIRP’s data showed that T-Mobile lost market share during the first three months of the iPhone 4S’s availability, while the other three maintained their market share.

Interestingly, the fact that 36% of new iPhone buyers were coming from other platforms seems not to have had much of an impact on those other platforms’ market share. According to an analysis released by StatCounter at the end of 2011, BlackBerry and Android continued fairly steadily in their respective trends throughout the last quarter of 2011. BlackBerry declined steadily throughout 2011, and showed no change in the rate of decline during the three months the iPhone 4S was available. Android, meanwhile, continued its steady climb throughout the year (even surpassing the iPhone in late summer), though it did show a very slight levelling off in October, around the time of the iPhone 4S’s launch.

[Hat tip, AppleInsider]

January 23, 2012
What Happens to AT&T and T-Mobile Now? Congressman Boucher Weighs In

Last month, AT&T withdrew its bid to purchase T-Mobile USA from Duetsche Telekom after a lot of criticism, especially from the Department of Justice and the FCC. The merger did receive a lot of support, but the criticism proved to be louder.

Were you for or against the AT&T/T-Mobile merger? We’d love to know.

Former Congressman and Internet Innovation Alliance Honorary Chairman Rick Boucher supported the merger, as he explained in this previous interview with WebProNews, because he believed it would help spur innovation, the economy, and jobs. We recently spoke with him again to talk about the implications of the deal not going through.

“I was not surprised by that decision given what had happened prior to the time that the application was withdrawn,” said the Congressman.

He went on to explain that the merger would have brought an “improvement that we desperately need.” If you remember, one of the goals of the merger was to bring high-speed broadband connections to 97 percent of the U.S. in 6 years, which would have nearly fulfilled President Obama’s broadband plan. Since the deal fell threw, Congressman Boucher told us that, in order for the President’s goal to still be met, the government would have to step in with an investment.

“In this era of concern about deficit spending, finding those investments is going to be very difficult,” he said.

As for AT&T, Congressman Boucher told us that he thinks the company will still try to meet the goals it set with the merger in mind, but that it would take a lot longer than 6 years to fulfill them. Through T-Mobile, AT&T would have saved significantly in its effort to enable 4G, but now, it needs to come up with the monies on its own.

“My guess is AT&T, at this point, is going to focus on strengthening its network in its core areas building out its 4th generation technology on an incremental basis of market-by-market, as it is an opportunity for that investment to realize the highest rate of return,” the Congressman explains. “Instead of it happening within 6 years on a nationwide basis, undoubtedly without the merger having occurred, that may now take a somewhat longer period of time.”

Some reports have indicated that AT&T has been talking with several owners of 700 MHz licenses and is in the process of acquiring them as part of its backup plan in case the T-Mobile deal fell threw. This may very well be true since the company is in need of more spectrum.

The Congressman is also optimistic about T-Mobile saying it is in a “very strong position to be a viable competitor.” However, he did say that it would have challenges with deploying 4G.

“The challenge that T-Mobile faces is acquiring the capital that is necessary to deploy 4th generation technology across its network,” he pointed out.

While AT&T did have to pay T-Mobile $4 billion ($3 billion in cash and $1 billion in spectrum rights), the Congressman said that T-Mobile would still need considerably more financing. What’s more is that T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, had said, prior to the merger, that it wanted to exit the U.S. market and was not going to invest in it further. If this is still the case, T-Mobile could have a tough road ahead.

Since the future of T-Mobile is still in question, there have been some speculations about whether or not AT&T will make another attempt at buying the company. Congressman Boucher told us that, at this point, it seemed that the companies were headed in two different directions.

Sprint has also been mentioned as a potential buyer of T-Mobile, but the Congressman thinks such a merger would face the same scrutiny that the AT&T/T-Mobile did.

“I think it’s gonna be very difficult for any of the major carriers to purchase T-Mobile, given the position of the Department of Justice and the FCC,” he said.

Speaking of major carriers, he said it would be “impossible” for Verizon to make such a purchase. If a carrier were to purchase it, the Congressman thinks it would have to be smaller than T-Mobile.

Another possibility would be to sell T-Mobile in parts, which is not what Congressman Boucher considers to be a good decision.

“This is a world where business dominates,” he said. “I think Deutsche Telekom will make its decision very carefully based upon the relative value of the business offers that are made.”

In terms of the mobile industry as a whole, Congressman Boucher told us that the merger not going through was negative for mobile, consumers, and the economy.

“The long term impact is that we don’t get the deployment of 4th generation technology to 97 percent of the American public within the next half decade,” he said. “I think that’s the major negative impact.”

“Wireless technology was the answer,” he added. “We were going to bring broadband to the broadband have-nots – I’m not sure what the answer is now.”

What do you think the next steps will be not only for AT&T and T-Mobile, but also the mobile industry? Please share your thoughts.

January 20, 2012
Carrier IQ To Be Removed From Sprint Phones This Month

Carrier IQ is back in the news today with reports that Sprint and HTC are planning to remove the software from their phones. Firmware updates will begin rolling out this month that will remove the software from Sprint’s Android-based phones. A public statement from HTC confirms that they are “working with Spring to provide maintenance releases that will remove Carrier IQ and provide security enhancements and bug fixes.”

The Carrier IQ scandal broke in early December following a YouTube video by Android app developer Trevor Eckhard purported to show Carrier IQ’s software – which he called a “rootkit” – accessing a wide variety data on an Android phone. His demonstration showed the software intercepting web traffic, location data, keystrokes, and even SMS messages. Carrier IQ insisted that they had no interest in users’ personal data, and that their software was nothing more than a diagnostic tool for carriers to collect data on handset and network performance.

The scandal blossomed into a full-blown ordeal as the software was discovered on Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile phones. The scandal spawned several lawsuits and drew the attention of Al Franken, the FTC, and the FCC. As more information became available and cooler heads began to prevail, it began to look more and more likely that Carrier IQ’s protestations of innocence were right, and that their software really was simply a tool for diagnosing network and handset performance. Which means that in all likelihood Sprint and HTC are removing Carrier IQ from their handsets in order to replace it with something else, since they need the kind of data Carrier IQ likely gathered.

January 17, 2012
CES 2012: iPhone Finally Coming to T-Mobile?

With the launch of the iPhone on Sprint last year, every major carrier in the country offered Apple’s flagship device. Except one. T-Mobile has been left to twist in the wind for years now. Though rumors of a T-Mobile iPhone have cropped up periodically, nothing has ever materialized. With the collapse of the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger, it was beginning to look like T-Mobile might never get the iPhone.

It looks now, though, like that might be about to change. Speaking at CES in Las Vegas, T-Mobile’s chief technology officer Neville Ray says that the next iPhone will carry a chipset that supports T-Mobile’s unique wireless network. The band of spectrum that T-Mobile uses for its phones, called AWS, is considerably different than that used by AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon. That difference has presented an obstacle to bringing the iPhone to T-Mobile’s network. Ray claimed that the chipset in Apple’s next iPhone will support AWS, though he admitted that Apple may choose not to make the necessary deal to bring the iPhone to T-Mobile.

With the launch of the next iPhone still several months away, it will be some time before any possible deal between Apple and T-Mobile could be confirmed. A deal between the two companies would not be a surprise, however. Though T-Mobile is the smallest of the four major carriers, their customers still represent an untapped market for Apple. Look for more news on this front in the coming months, but a formal announcement is not likely to come before the iPhone’s unveiling later this year.

[Source: CNet]

January 11, 2012
T-Mobile Plans To Keep Doing What They’re Doing

After the saga of the AT&T/T-Mobile merger worked out like a bowling ball in a wet paper bag, it’s been kind of easy to forget that AT&T wasn’t the only active participant in this ordeal. T-Mobile has thoughts and feelings, too, you guys, and they want to remind you that they’re not merely wireless krill to be gulped up by the orca-sized AT&T.

Today in a press release, T-Mobile COO Jim Alling made it clear that the wireless provider is steadfast in offering outstanding service to their customers and highlighted a few of ways in which they’re going to prove it:

Great Value. We’re offering our best plan ever – 2 lines for $49.99 each that includes voice, text and data (including 2GB at full-speed) on each line with a new 2-year agreement. We also now offer a Monthly4G no annual contract plan that gives you unlimited talk, text, and web (including 100MB at full-speed) for $50.

Compelling Products. We offer a great line-up of 4G smartphones. We continue to rapidly expand our selection of amazing and affordable 4G smartphones, tablets and other devices that make mobile internet service easy and affordable. This holiday, we have cutting edge smartphones including the 42 Mbps-capable HTC Amaze™ 4G and the Samsung Galaxy S™ II. In January, we will begin selling the Lumia 710, the first Windows Phone from Nokia for as low as $49.99 after mail-in rebate with a 2-year agreement on a qualifying plan

America’s Largest 4G Network – now faster than ever. Whether you need driving instructions that are fast enough to keep up with your car, or want to stream a full-length movie uninterrupted, our 4G network delivers. We have expanded our 4G coverage to more than 200 million people in 208 markets and doubled speeds for nearly 180 million Americans in 163 markets.

Humorously enough, that last factoid must feel like a cream pie in the face to AT&T, who had cited their need for spectrum as one of the primary reasons for acquiring T-Mobile. Oh well.

December 21, 2011
Verizon Runs Afoul With DoJ

Just as the AT&T/T-Mobile saga was waddling off into the sunset, Verizon has captured the briefly unoccupied attention of the U.S. Department of Justice due to their deal to purchase wireless spectrum from cable operators. Verizon has been a busy bee this month as they’ve snapped up over 100 spectrum licenses from the likes of Cox Communications, Comcast, and SpectrumCo.

Turns out that Verizon should’ve been taking notes from the AT&T-Mobile deal that the DoJ didn’t think too highly off because too many big moves like that attracts the kind of attention you may not like to attract. The agreement would’ve had Verizon paying $3.6 billion for the wireless spectrum only to resell the cable providers’ mobile service. From a report this morning in Reuters, the smell of the marketing arrangement in the deal is what triggered the DoJ’s keen antitrust smeller.

“My understanding is that it’s the deal that we’re looking at. We’re looking at the proposed deal,” said Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona, who declined to outline any specific concerns the Justice Department had.

“Comcast has decided not to compete and is handing spectrum over to Verizon,” the source said. “They decided to halt the buildout. Instead of us seeing facilities-based competition, it appears that we’re seeing collaboration.”

At this point, I think it’s safe to say that AT&T and now Verizon are wireless hoarders. Verizon appears to be using the same argument that AT&T used in making their case for the T-Mobile acquisition by claiming to need the additional spectrum for their customer service demands. Seeing how well the AT&T-Mobile didn’t turn out, Verizon might want to polish that argument before their day in court.

December 21, 2011
The AT&T/T-Mobile Fail’s Silver Lining (Possibly)

In light of the implosion of the AT&T/T-Mobile merger, everybody’s kinda standing around scratching their heads and deciding what to do next. According to Reuters, at least one entity involved in the wireless industry may benefit from the fallout: network equipment makers.

After having seen their profits decline in the last year, equipment makers are expected to begin to rebound following a spending blitz from both AT&T and T-Mobile to start out the new year (lord knows that AT&T could stand to start making money again after that giant $3 billion break up fee).

From an article earlier today:

Jeff Kvaal of Barclays Capital said equipment makers close to base station vendors would benefit most because AT&T had halted “spending around September, mostly around mobility.”

Vendors with less direct exposure to AT&T’s wireless spending — such as Amdocs, Ciena, Cisco, F5 and Juniper — will benefit indirectly, he said.

“The largest vendor beneficiaries should be AT&T’s incumbent 4G base station vendors, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent. T-Mobile’s 3G suppliers are Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Siemens Networks,” Kvaal said.

The article goes on to cite the jump in stocks of equipment manufacturing companies, such as Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson, following the demise of AT&T-Mobile. Add to this the speculation that capital spending is expected to improve over the next year and you’re probably looking toward sunnier days if you build cell phone things.

See? That AT&T-Mobile fail isn’t bad news for everybody.

December 20, 2011
The AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Fail: The Next Day

Now that AT&T has begun its walk of shame after failing to add T-Mobile as the latest notch in its belt, today is for people to reflect on what could have been and speculate on what will be.

Henry Blodget, Editor-in-Chief of Business Insider and Glenn Beck fan, has called the U.S. government’s denial of the merger “absurd” and doesn’t really see what the big deal would have been to have three major carriers instead of four.

So why was it even a big deal?

If you recall, nobody was really digging on the prospect of the AT&T/T-Mobile merger. The DoJ wasn’t down, the FCC wasn’t down, and other wireless carriers weren’t down. Add to that brigade the fact that, of the four major cellular providers in the U.S., AT&T customers are the least happy about their service and you’ve got a whole lotta people very unexcited about this acquisition.

One of the factors the FCC cited in its opposition to the creation of a AT&T-Mobile hydra was that such a merger would result in “the top two wireless providers having a market share of approximately 75 percent.” That sounds like a lot, but honestly, it wouldn’t have changed much from how the landscape currently is. As of the third quarter of 2011, AT&T and Verizon share 66% of the total carrier subscription shares (this is according to Chetan Sharma Consulting). Had AT&T swallowed T-Mobile’s share, the result would have left AT&T with approximately 42% and Verizon with 34%, topping out at around 76% of the total market. AT&T would’ve been the largest wireless provider in the United States by quite a bit, leaving Verizon at the number two spot and Sprint in a distant third (they have 17% of the market). Again, not a huge shift, but a shift nonetheless.

What’s interesting here is that Sprint had actually expressed interest in merging with T-Mobile before AT&T cut in. A Sprint/T-Mobile deal would’ve created a third carrier that staked 27% of the wireless. While that’s still far behind the take of Verizon and AT&T mobile, it’s still a much more evenly portioned pie than the one that an AT&T-Mobile merger would’ve served up. That’s not exactly optimal either because that still leaves the top two wireless businesses in control of most of the market, but at least Spring could remain competitive in that landscape.

In the former scenario that leaves almost 3/4 of U.S. consumers under the umbrellas of AT&T and Verizon, we basically get a two-party system of wireless providers. Having said that, I’m not even going to get into the vexations and limitations that result from a two-party system and what toll that model takes on the fluidity and progress of society in the United States.

The FCC report also didn’t find any reliability in AT&T’s claims that “merging with T-Mobile is essential for AT&T to built out its LTE network to 97 percent of Americans” and that AT&T’s “assertions that the transaction would create jobs in the United States to be inconsistent with AT&T’s internal analyses and record statements concerning cost reductions from the merger.” Basically, no better cell phone service and not good for jobs. What’s the point, in other words?

The one question that AT&T failed to answer sufficiently is The Why. Why did they want to acquire T-Mobile so badly? According to Chetan Sherma, they say that AT&T has 43% of the connected device share of the market. That’s a pretty hefty bite but maybe AT&T’s eyes were bigger than its stomach. Or it bit off more than it could chew. Or whatever gastrointestinal metaphor you want to apply.

Honestly, I don’t think AT&T make a good case to the DoJ and FCC. Buying out a major competitor is a lot different than the deliberation involved in buying the Lord of the Rings BluRay box set during an unexpected late night trip to Walmart. This merger had big ramifications that AT&T didn’t address clearly enough. As a result, they lost millions of dollars and they don’t get their T-Mobile in the end. It doesn’t have anything to do with consolidating U.S. business onto U.S. soil. And nobody forced AT&T to pursue this merger. It’s a simple case of AT&T handling this acquisition poorly. Analogously, I doubt I’d be approved for a loan of $2,000,000 if I strolled into the bank, asked for the loan and when the bank asked me why I wanted to do it I simply shrugged gormlessly and droned, “B’cuz.” No, I’d be denied, because I’d need a pretty air-tight argument to get approved. But that’s what I gather AT&T’s merger playbook looked like. Since Blodget doesn’t think AT&T needs to make a solid case for the acquisition, maybe I should just ask Blodget for my loan of $2 million since he’s so relaxed.

In the editorial I linked above to Blodget’s piece in Business Insider, he can quote stats just as well I can here but in the end it doesn’t really change anything. None of this matters. Nothing is preventing AT&T from making a second attempt at acquiring T-Mobile because, like I said, I don’t really see it drastically changing the wireless landscape. And truthfully, they’ll probably find a way to win in the end anyways so, again, this defeat to AT&T doesn’t matter. They’re just butt-hurt right now and, well, that’s to be expected.

Don’t be surprised if they go home for the holidays, polish up their act, and then make another run at T-Mobile next year. Chances are this defeat has showed them that you can’t be a lazy suitor when you’re gunning for a major conquest.

December 20, 2011
AT&T/T-Mobile Deal: DEAD

As if its DOA status wasn’t already apparent to anybody who’s paid attention to the issue in the past month or so, the prospective merger between AT&T and T-Mobile has gone the way of the dinosaur.

AT&T toe-tagged the deal earlier today with a press release, which was posted on their website, that said they have agreed with Deutsche Telekom AG, T-Mobile’s parent company, to end the bid for acquisition. Typical of all sore losers, AT&T did not shy from indicating who it believed were the villains that prevented them from prevailing in this corporate drama:

The actions by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice to block this transaction do not change the realities of the U.S. wireless industry. It is one of the most fiercely competitive industries in the world, with a mounting need for more spectrum that has not diminished and must be addressed immediately. The AT&T and T-Mobile USA combination would have offered an interim solution to this spectrum shortage. In the absence of such steps, customers will be harmed and needed investment will be stifled.

According to All Things D, AT&T will “have to pay a giant breakup fee to Deutsche Telekom” on top of eating the cost of all the legal costs the company has already put forth during its efforts to acquire T-Mobile. The Wall Street Journal adds that AT&T “will record a $4 billion pretax accounting charge in the fourth quarter, to reflect the value of the breakup fee it owes to Deutsche Telekom” but that it will work with Deutsche Telekom to develop a “mutually beneficial” roaming agreement.

December 19, 2011
DoJ Pushes To Delay Or Dismiss AT&T, T-Mobile Trial

Let’s play a game: Pretend you’re AT&T. Your subscribers think you’re the pits and everybody’s making it next-to-impossible for you to acquire your competitor, T-Mobile. In short, it doesn’t seem like anybody really likes you these days. What can you do? At best, just cross your fingers and hope it doesn’t get any worse from here.

But then reality settles back into its worn recliner, kicks up its feet and tells you, “Not so fast, AT&T. I’m not done with you yet.”

That’s essentially what happened today as the U.S. Department of Justice has asked to delay or dismiss its lawsuit against AT&T, which was originally scheduled to begin in February. The DoJ cites AT&T’s decision last month to withdraw its application from the FCC as the reason for filing the request to postpone the trial. Joseph Wayland, the lead litigator for the Justice Department’s case, said that there was no longer any reason for the DoJ to pursue the case after AT&T withdrew its application because the merger isn’t a “real transaction until they file with the FCC.”

So really, the DoJ is treating the AT&T/T-Mobile merger as a make-believe merger.

Trying to sustain the appearance that AT&T is still seriously pursuing the merger, Mark Hensen, an attorney for AT&T, reassured the trial judge that the deal to acquire T-Mobile was still the same in spite of reports that his client could renegotiate the acquisition to make it more agreeable to regulators.

Really, what cards could AT&T possibly have up their sleeve at this point. Going the Defiant Teenager route didn’t really do them any good, so now will they simply accept the fact that this deal is pushing daisies? Or maybe AT&T is holding out for the miracle of Christmas where, in addition to being allowed to gobble up T-Mobile, the lame will walk and the blind will see again.

December 9, 2011
AT&T Rated Lowest Service Provider By Consumer Reports

In a year where AT&T was prevented from acquiring T-Mobile, dealt a lawsuit by Sprint, ran afoul with the FCC, and then got ensnared in the Carrier IQ debacle, they have to be eager to put this year behind them.

Unfortunately, 2011 isn’t over yet and it’s still got some despair in store for AT&T.

Consumer Reports released the results of their annual satisfaction survey today and, probably to the surprise of exactly no one, AT&T was rated the lowest among the four largest cellphone service providers in the United States for the second year in a row. Ranked worse than Verizon (which scored the highest), Spring, and erstwhile AT&T acquisition T-Mobile, the report deals AT&T some damaging news – and this isn’t even the full report yet so who knows what terrors lurk ahead for AT&T once the entirety of the results go public. Then again, maybe it’s old news to AT&T since they’re on a losing streak lately.

The report assesses customers’ satisfaction in areas of general service as well as customer-support experience. The full details of the report will be made available in the January 2012 issue of Consumer Reports. If you can’t wait to see all the ways in which the survey damns AT&T, consider what last year’s survey unloaded:

Over half of the survey respondents who used AT&T as a carrier owned some version of the iPhone, the Apple smart phone that is exclusive to AT&T, at least for now. Consumer Reports data, reflecting all versions of the phone, found that iPhone owners were much less satisfied with their carrier and rated data service (Web and e-mail) lower than owners of smart phones on other carriers that, like the iPhone, have a host of apps to encourage heavy data use.

“Our survey suggests that an iPhone from Verizon Wireless, which is rumored, could indeed be good news for iPhone fans,” said Paul Reynolds, Electronics Editor for Consumer Reports.

Not only did the prediction of a Verizon-based iPhone come true but Sprint customers got the opportunity to get their paws on an iPhone, as well, so it will be curious to see if the wider availability of iPhones affected cellphone users’ selection of service provider.

If you’re an AT&T subscriber, how do you feel about this report? Does it sound pretty familiar to your experience?

December 6, 2011
AT&T: FCC Report “Lacks All Credibility”

Although the AT&T / T-Mobile merger seems to be on life support, you’ve got to admire AT&T for their latest statement, one which proves that if they go down, they want to go down swinging.

AT&T has hit back at the FCC, who earlier this week issued a report condemning the merger as bad for the country. Some of the FCC’s main points revolved around long-standing objections to the deal, for instance – the merger would actually kill jobs instead of growing them like AT&T has promised, that it’s possible for AT&T to build its own 4G LTE network without T-Mobile (market competition would spur that on), and that the merger would simply make AT&T into too much of a giant.

In a statement credited to AT&T Senior VP of External Affairs Jim Cicconi, the company lashes out in what reads like a giant “f*ck you” to the FCC’s notions of fair analysis.

We expected that the AT&T-T-Mobile transaction would receive careful, considered, and fair analysis. Unfortunately, the preliminary FCC Staff Analysis offers none of that. The document is so obviously one-sided that any fair-minded person reading it is left with the clear impression that it is an advocacy piece, and not a considered analysis. In our view, the report raises questions as to whether its authors were predisposed

Cicconi goes on to talk about the FCC’s assertion that the merger would be a job-killer:

Because the report effectively concludes that the billions of additional investment promised by AT&T to deploy 4G LTE mobile broadband service to 55 million more Americans over the next six years will occur anyway, it concludes those billions will create no new jobs and spur no new investment by others. Yet, just two weeks ago the FCC announced that its new $4.5 billion broadband fund, which will help to deploy wireline broadband to a much smaller number of Americans-7 million- over the same time period, will create “approximately 500,000 jobs and $50 billion in economic growth over this period.” This notion — that government spending on broadband deployment creates jobs and economic growth, but private investment does not–makes no sense.

In terms of the FCC’s assertion that the merger would damage competition, AT&T calls out FCC for failing to stay consistent in regards to its own statements:

The FCC’s Mobile Competition Report this year concluded that 90% of all Americans have a choice of five or more facilities-based wireless carriers, not including competition from resale providers. Yet the draft report on our merger dismisses the significance of the FCC’s own official finding in assessing the competitive impact of our merger.

They conclude with a request for people to read the FCC and they will see how unbalanced it really is:

We have summarized here only a portion of the infirmities we see in the FCC’s report. We would encourage all observers to read the report itself. We believe that the utter absence of balance is clear, and demonstrates that the document lacks all credibility. The decision to issue such a report that has no legal status, without a vote of the Commission, and in a proceeding that has been withdrawn, was also without precedent, and underscores that this was intended more for advocacy and to impact public perceptions. And neither is a proper basis for action by a regulatory agency.

Will any of this change anyone’s mind? That remains to be seen. But this statement clearly demonstrates that AT&T isn’t afraid to fight for this deal.

What do you think about the merger? Let us know in the comments.

December 1, 2011
AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Faces FCC Obstacle

As if AT&T didn’t have enough trouble performing their sleight of hand for the Department of Justice, their attempt to acquire T-Mobile just got more difficult, this time in the form of the FCC. In a weighty statement issued yesterday, the FCC produced a damning analysis of the merger citing concerns over possible “anticompetitive effects” should AT&T’s acquisition succeed. In defending the need of a competitive market, the FCC cited T-Mobile’s role as a “pricing innovator” due to the several service offers to consumers that may not necessarily be available through other wireless providers, such as the Flex Pay plan and Month-to-Month Postpaid Plans.

The full text follows:

Fcc Att Short

The FCC continues:

The record overall does not support a finding that the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger would serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity and that the record presents a number of substantial and material questions of fact.

Should the AT&T-Mobile amalgamation come to fruition, in one swoop AT&T would eclipse Verizon to become the largest wireless provider as well as dwarf Sprint’s number of subscribers by two-and-and-half times. Additionally, the merger would eliminate T-Mobile and leave Verizon and AT&T in control of approximately 75% of all market shares. And that, cellphone users and poli-sci students, would most likely undermine the purpose of the Communications Act.

But the FCC isn’t quite done with AT&T yet:

The staff additionally identifies internal AT&T documents and consistent historical practices that contradict AT&T’s claim that the merging with T-Mobile is essential for AT&T to build out its LTE network to 97 percent of Americans. The staff finds the Applicants’ assertions that the transaction would create jobs i the United States to be inconsistent with AT&T’s internal analyses and record statements concerning cost reductions from the merger.

Ouch. Hearing that your merger is not going to create jobs when the country (and pretty much the whole world) is already feeling severe economic pangs is really not the way to garner support for the proposed merger.

AT&T appeared indignant of the FCC in their statement released on Thanksgiving Day, so one must wonder if this latest development has changed their tune. Regardless, AT&T’s space in which to maneuver this deal seems to become more restricted by the day. One question still remains: Is this T-Mobile deal really worth that much to AT&T to be #1?

November 30, 2011
C Spire Wireless Nabs iPhone 4S

Today, C Spire Wireless announced that they will be the first regional carrier to get the iPhone 4S. The obvious reaction here is, what about T-Mobile?

The launch of the 4S brought a new national carrier to the Apple iProduct party, as Sprint joined AT&T and Verizon as carriers of the iPhone. There was plenty of speculation and rumor that T-Mobile would also be getting the iPhone 4S, but those rumors were dispelled by company management a short time before the phone’s release.

But back to C Spire.

C Spire is a regional carrier that used to be called Cellular South (they changed their name in September). They are based in Mississippi and serve parts of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and of course Mississippi. According to recent figures, they have around 900K customers. C Spire offers unlimited voice and data plans and a 3G network.

They announced the news on their Facebook page and recently updated their site to show the “coming soon iPhone 4S’ box we’ve seen on other carriers’ websites.

C Spire WirelessC Spire will launch iPhone 4S, the most amazing iPhone yet, in the US in the coming weeks. For further information or to register interest, please visit http://tlk.tc/NqEB. For more information on iPhone 4S please visit www.apple.com/iphone 5 hours ago · 458 likes · 211 comments

The announcement on Facebook seems to be pretty popular with their customers, as the comments show plenty of excited people. There’s no official word on exactly when the iPhone 4S will arrive on the network – just the vague projection of “the coming weeks.”

T-Mobile is the only national carrier that doesn’t offer the iPhone, and it looks like Apple has jumped them for regional carriers.

What do you think about the news? Let us know in the comments.

October 19, 2011
iPhone 5 Rumor: Not This Year, Says T-Mobile CMO

This rumor is close to bypassing “rumor” status and jumping straight to confirmed, if the leaked document is correct.

TmoNews has obtained a release from a T-Mobile employee town hall meeting held on September 15th. The release provides a summary of topics discussed during the meeting. The relevant iPhone 5 tidbit comes from a relatively straightforward statement by T-Mobile Chief Marketing Officer Cole Brodman.

Brodman says: “We are not going to get the iPhone 5 this year.”

No frills there. Here’s the screen cap of the statement in context –

Of course, there are a few ways to interpret that statement. First, does Brodman put the emphasis on “this year?” If so, that could mean that the iPhone 5 might be arriving on T-Mobile in 2012.

Could T-Mobile simply not be getting the iPhone 5 this year? Could they be getting the iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S? There have been plenty of rumors recently that say Apple is planning on releasing two phones this fall – an inexpensive iPhone 4 upgrade (the 4S) and the radically new iPhone 5.

Even if these two scenarios are possible, the language is pretty clear. If the CMO is correct, there will be no T-Mobile iPhone 5 on the shelves in 2011.

T-Mobile iPhone 5 rumors have been swirling for months. In August, a supposed T-Mobile informant told MacTrast that the T-Mobile iPhone 5 was set to launch in October. Then, a leaked internal memo surfaced earlier this month that called for an “all hands on deck” meeting on September 24th. Some speculated that such a big deal would not be made for anything short of a meeting about an upcoming iPhone.

This is by far the most definitive “no” we’ve heard regarding the iPhone 5 coming to T-Mobile. I’m sure T-Mobile customers hope that there is a little more to the story than this seemingly case-closing statement.

September 20, 2011
iPhone 5 Rumor: Is T-Mobile Planning For Upcoming Release?

Late last month, reports surfaced indicating that the iPhone 5 would be launching with T-Mobile, at the same time it launches with AT&T and Verizon (whenever that might be).

The rumor was sourced to a T-Mobile contact that claimed to have been briefed about the upcoming device. MacTrast quoted the source as saying –

The informant, who requested to remain anonymous, went on to claim that the iPhone 5 would also operate at 3G speeds on T-Mobile US network. Current unlocked iPhone 4 units can only operate at 2G “edge” speeds on T-Mobile’s network, and lack certain network-dependent features, such as Visual Voicemail.

Further elaborating on the matter, the informant suggested that T-Mobile USA expects the iPhone 5 to launch sometime in early to mid October, which corresponds nicely with current speculation.

This rumor popped up just days after rumors emerged surrounding Sprint’s launch of the iPhone 5. Since that time, numerous reports have come out backing the prediction that the device will indeed arrive on Sprint sometime in October.

Now we get our first corresponding rumor surrounding the previous T-Mobile/iPhone buzz. T-Mobile blog TmoNews has obtained what they claim to be an internal email sent to T-Mobile employees. The email asks employees to “save the date” for an all hands meeting on Saturday, September 24th.

Their analysis of this cryptic document is pretty amusing –

Could this be a pre-iPhone launch meeting? Could this be related to the AT&T takeover or could this be related to T-Mobile discovering water on Mars? In any case, mark your calendars down for September 24th because something is going down.

While this email doesn’t specifically mention an iPhone 5, it does let us know that something big is going down near the end of September in the world of T-Mobile. Previous speculations have put the iPhone 5 pre-sales starting in late September.

But then again, there is a lot of other stuff going on at T-Mobile right now involving a particularly noteworthy acquisition that is running into some serious roadblocks.

September 8, 2011
Sprint Files Its Own Suit to Block AT&T, T-Mobile Merger
Sprint announced today that it has filed a suit to block the proposed AT&T, T-Mobile USA merger. The suit was filed in federal court in the District of Columbia.

“Sprint opposes AT&T’s proposed takeover of T-Mobile,” said Susan Z. Haller, vice president-Litigation at Sprint. “With today’s legal action, we are continuing that advocacy on behalf of consumers and competition, and expect to contribute our expertise and resources in proving that the proposed transaction is illegal.”

Sprint says in today’s announcement:

Sprint’s lawsuit focuses on the competitive and consumer harms which would result from a takeover of T-Mobile by AT&T. The proposed takeover would:

Harm retail consumers and corporate customers by causing higher prices and less innovation.

Entrench the duopoly control of AT&T and Verizon, the two “Ma Bell” descendants, of the almost one-quarter of a trillion dollar wireless market. As a result of the transaction, AT&T and Verizon would control more than three-quarters of that market and 90 percent of the profits.

Harm Sprint and the other independent wireless carriers. If the transaction were to be allowed, a combined AT&T and T-Mobile would have the ability to use its control over backhaul, roaming and spectrum, and its increased market position to exclude competitors, raise their costs, restrict their access to handsets, damage their businesses and ultimately to lessen competition.

This comes about a week after the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit to block the acquisition. AT&T has maintained that the deal would create jobs, though this has been disputed by Sprint via a study.
September 6, 2011
AT&T Hopes to Settle with DoJ Before Going to Court
On Wednesday, the U.S. Justice Department announced that it had filed an antitrust lawsuit to block AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA. “The combination of AT&T and T-Mobile would result in tens of millions of consumers all across the United States facing higher prices, fewer choices and lower quality products for mobile wireless services,” said Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole.

AT&T, is gearing up to present a two-pronged solution to the DoJ, with the hopes of getting the acquisition passed, according to a report from Reuters, citing “people close to the matter”. This would reportedly let AT&T try to find a settlement before the suit actually reaches the courtroom.

AT&T said the following in a statement on Wednesday:

We are surprised and disappointed by today’s action, particularly since we have met repeatedly with the Department of Justice and there was no indication from the DOJ that this action was being contemplated.

We plan to ask for an expedited hearing so the enormous benefits of this merger can be fully reviewed. The DOJ has the burden of proving alleged anti-competitive affects and we intend to vigorously contest this matter in court.

At the end of the day, we believe facts will guide any final decision and the facts are clear. This merger will:

Help solve our nation’s spectrum exhaust situation and improve wireless service for millions.

Allow AT&T to expand 4G LTE mobile broadband to another 55 million Americans, or 97% of the population;

Result in billions of additional investment and tens of thousands of jobs, at a time when our nation needs them most.

We remain confident that this merger is in the best interest of consumers and our country, and the facts will prevail in court.

Sprint released the following statement on that day: “The DOJ today delivered a decisive victory for consumers, competition and our country. By filing suit to block AT&T’s proposed takeover of T-Mobile, the DOJ has put consumers’ interests first. Sprint applauds the DOJ for conducting a careful and thorough review and for reaching a just decision – one which will ensure that consumers continue to reap the benefits of a competitive U.S. wireless industry. Contrary to AT&T’s assertions, today’s action will preserve American jobs, strengthen the American economy, and encourage innovation.”

Now, Sprint has put out a study aimed at debunking AT&T’s claims about increasing jobs. Summaries of the conclusions it draws are as follows:

The EPI analysis claiming that the AT&T/T-Mobile merger will create jobs because of increased capital investment is completely unfounded. It is based solely on a claim by AT&T that it will increase its capital expenditures. But it appears to ignore reductions in capital expenditures that T-Mobile would have undertaken, and the strong likelihood that net capital expenditures would decline as a result of the merger. Indeed AT&T has told the federal government and its investors that the merger would lead to reduced capital expenditures. By EPI’s own logic, the net reduction in capital expenditures would lead to
fewer jobs.

The past record of employment changes following AT&T acquisitions of other mobile carriers indicates that these acquisitions led to reductions in employment among the workforces of AT&T and the acquired company.

AT&T itself acknowledges that the merger will entail force reductions. Given the first two conclusions, there is no reason not to take them at their word.

The AT&T/T-Mobile merger offers more jobs for the CWA, and probably higher wages for those CWA members employed by the post-merger AT&T who do not lose their jobs as a result of the merger. Overall, though, it will almost surely act to directly reduce jobs for American workers

You can see the whole thing here (pdf).
September 2, 2011
AT&T Responds To DOJ Smackdown
Even though AT&T has already been broken up once before by the United States government for monopolistic business practices, apparently, the company motto is “try, try again.” The proposed T-Mobile acquisition serves as proof of AT&T’s goals.

If the merger were to go ahead as planned, AT&T would have over 120 million subscribers under their restrictive umbrella, and that, apparently, is what led to the Department of Justice’s attempt to squash the merger. A quote when their antitrust suit was brought to light demonstrates this quite nicely:

“T-Mobile has been an important source of competition among the national carriers, including through innovation and quality enhancements such as the roll-out of the first nationwide high-speed data network,” said Sharis A. Pozen, Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “Unless this merger is blocked, competition and innovation will be reduced, and consumers will suffer.“

Meanwhile, AT&T and those that support the merger insist it will, in fact, help innovation and will not affect the choices consumers have.

Who’s right here?

As it stands, AT&T was apparently caught off-guard by the Department of Justice’s antitrust suit, and has issued a response of their own:
We are surprised and disappointed by today’s action, particularly since we have met repeatedly with the Department of Justice and there was no indication from the DOJ that this action was being contemplated.

We plan to ask for an expedited hearing so the enormous benefits of this merger can be fully reviewed. The DOJ has the burden of proving alleged anti-competitive affects and we intend to vigorously contest this matter in court.

At the end of the day, we believe facts will guide any final decision and the facts are clear. This merger will:

Help solve our nation’s spectrum exhaust situation and improve wireless service for millions.

Allow AT&T to expand 4G LTE mobile broadband to another 55 million Americans, or 97% of the population;

Result in billions of additional investment and tens of thousands of jobs, at a time when our nation needs them most.

We remain confident that this merger is in the best interest of consumers and our country, and the facts will prevail in court.
Perhaps someone can explain why AT&T won’t improve their infrastructure, therefore, reducing “spectrum exhaust” from within, but apparently, that’s another discussion for another day. “Why build it when you can buy it?” is the apparent approach here.

Sprint also responded to the DoJ’s actions with wild approval:

“The DOJ today delivered a decisive victory for consumers, competition and our country. By filing suit to block AT&T’s proposed takeover of T-Mobile, the DOJ has put consumers’ interests first. Sprint applauds the DOJ for conducting a careful and thorough review and for reaching a just decision – one which will ensure that consumers continue to reap the benefits of a competitive U.S. wireless industry. Contrary to AT&T’s assertions, today’s action will preserve American jobs, strengthen the American economy, and encourage innovation.”

But Sprint didn’t stop there, either. One of the new selling points of the AT&T/T-Mobile merger is the jobs it will create in the United States. Sprint doubts that claim as well.

“EPI’s claim that the AT&T/T-Mobile merger would create jobs is completely unfounded,” [professor of Economics and director of the Center for Economics and Public Policy at the University of California at Irvine, David] Neumark concludes. “It ignores potential reductions in capital expenditures that T-Mobile would have undertaken. Indeed, AT&T has told the federal government and its investors that the merger would lead to reduced capital expenditures – which by EPI’s own logic would lead to fewer jobs. And AT&T has acknowledged there would be other job reductions resulting from the merger.”

Clearly, not everyone is as excited about the potential merger as AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson is.

Your thoughts? Do you support the merger, one that would leave two companies, Verizon and AT&T, controlling 70-plus percent of the subscriber market? Does AT&T need to stop trying to merge with everyone and actually build their own 4G network? Let us know in the comments.
September 1, 2011