Justice Dept. to block AT&T's T-Mobile deal

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a petition with a federal court in Washington, D.C. to block AT&T's proposed takeover of T-Mobile USA.
The Justice Department said that the deal would "substantially lessen competition" in the wireless industry, and thus, should be blocked from approval. The government organization said that if the deal was approved, it would violate U.S. antitrust laws, and potentially cause "higher prices, poorer quality services, fewer choices and fewer innovative products for the millions of American consumers who rely on mobile wireless services in their everyday lives."
"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," Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole said in a statement. "Consumers across the country, including those in rural areas and those with lower incomes, benefit from competition among the nation's wireless carriers, particularly the four remaining national carriers. This lawsuit seeks to ensure that everyone can continue to receive the benefits of that competition."
Bloomberg was first to report on the news.
Earlier this year, AT&T announced its plans to acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom in a deal valued at $39 billion. As soon as the deal was announced, critics immediately chimed in, saying that it could stifle competition in the marketplace and ultimately hurt both consumers and competitors. Sprint, which would have been dwarfed by the combined AT&T and T-Mobile, was especially outspoken on the deal, saying that it would fight it to the end.
"Sprint urges the United States government to block this anticompetitive acquisition," the company said in a statement following the announcement of the deal. "This transaction will harm consumers and harm competition at a time when this country can least afford it. So on behalf of our customers, our industry, and our country, Sprint will fight this attempt by AT&T to undo the progress of the past 25 years and create a new Ma Bell duopoly."
However, both the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice continued their review of the deal, and were expected to make their decision on the merger early next year. The fact that the Justice Department has already filed a petition against the deal is somewhat of a surprise


Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20099776-17/justice-dept-to-block-at-ts-t-mobile-deal/#ixzz1WcbmOv2K

AT&T Buying T-Mobile For $39 Billion

AT&T on Sunday announced that it would acquire T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom in a $39 billion deal that will create the largest wireless carrier in the U.S. Almost immediately, AT&T started its campaign to get the deal approved by regulators. According to a report by Bloomberg News, AT&T had been in talks for sometime with T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom, and won because it was willing to offer a higher cash component to the purchase price. AT&T was also willing to offer a higher than average breakup fee if the sale is cancelled, possibly due to regulatory requirements making it undesirable to complete on the deal.

T-Mobile and Sprint have been rumored to merge. Indeed, Sprint will need a merger partner and Verizon Wireless may be a potential option. That move would create a U.S. wireless duopoly with a bevy of smaller players. Verizon is planning to upgrade its entire nationwide network to LTE by the end of 2013. This unexpected AT&T/T-Mobile tie-up could have the effect of accelerating the 4G race in the US, which would make the American 4G networks some of the best on the planet. 

In a statement, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson positioned the deal this way. 

"It will improve network quality, and it will bring advanced LTE capabilities to more than 294 million people. Mobile broadband networks drive economic opportunity everywhere, and they enable the expanding high-tech ecosystem that includes device makers, cloud and content providers, app developers, customers, and more…This transaction delivers significant customer, shareowner and public benefits that are available at this level only from the combination of these two companies with complementary network technologies, spectrum positions and operations. We are confident in our ability to execute a seamless integration, and with additional spectrum and network capabilities"

Stephenson also played to President Obama’s goals for nationwide mobile broadband.

Indeed, Sprint spokesman John Taylor already made it clear where his company stands:

"The combination of AT&T and T-Mobile USA, if approved by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC), would alter dramatically the structure of the communications industry. AT&T and Verizon are already by far the largest wireless providers. A combined AT&T and T-Mobile would be almost three times the size of Sprint, the third largest wireless competitor. If approved, the merger would result in a wireless industry dominated overwhelmingly by two vertically-integrated companies that control almost 80% of the US wireless post-paid market, as well as the availability and price of key inputs such as backhaul and access needed by other wireless companies to compete. The DOJ and the FCC must decide if this transaction is in the best interest of consumers and the US economy overall, and determine if innovation and robust competition would be impacted adversely and by this dramatic change in the structure of the industry"

Key Notes:

• AT&T will pay $25 billion in cash with the rest in stock.
• Deutsche Telekom will own about 8 percent of AT&T when the deal is done.
• AT&T’s purchase of T-Mobile is a spectrum play.
• AT&T estimated that it would take five years to build out its network density to what T-Mobile and AT&T have today.

For more information on the transaction, including background information and factsheets, visit www.MobilizeEverything.com.

AT&T iPhone beats Verizon in nationwide 3G speed tests

'CNN - The AT&T iPhone's average download speed was 1,769 Kbps, and the average upload speed was 730 Kbps. By way of comparison, the Verizon iPhone's average download speed was 848 Kbps, and the average upload speed was 506 Kbps.,

Well ! what difference does it makes if AT&t beats Verizon 3G Speed test by 300-400Kbs. I mean what difference it would make if you stream video faster than your friend ultimately you both gonna watch the same video. In my opinion the actual test should be of " Network Availability and Accessibility". 

What I mean by Network Availability and Accessibility ? 

'CNN- However, the AT&T iPhone sometimes could not complete tests because it did not have a connection, whereas the Verizon iPhone successfully completed every test. In short, I found the Verizon iPhone to be slower with network transfers but more reliable with coverage. Reviewers at other publications had the same results.'

Now, that is what I mean... Verizon has far more better network coverage than At&T.  If a user is not able to access the network then what is the use of all that high speed. Give it a thought !