AT&T, T-Mobile Merger, Sprint Opposes Acquisition
As you are no doubt aware, over in the good ole US of A, AT&T is trying to acquire T-Mobile USA for the substantial sum of $39 billion and if the merger of the two carriers goes ahead would give AT&T a subscriber base of some 125 million thus making AT&T larger than Verizon with their 93 million and Sprint’s 49 million.
However, all is not rosy in the US carrier garden when it comes to this proposed acquisition as according to an article over on Mashable, Sprint is opposed to the merger and is putting up quite a fight against it going ahead.
Before the merger can go ahead it has to be approved by the FCC, Department of Justice and apparently Congress, and apparently Sprint, opposed to the deal has said…
“If approved, the proposed acquisition would create a combined company that would be almost three times the size of Sprint in terms of wireless revenue and would entrench AT&T’s and Verizon’s duopoly control over the wireless market. The wireless industry moving forward would be dominated overwhelmingly by two vertically integrated companies with unprecedented control over the U.S. 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. “
However, according to the Wall Street Journal, AT&T Senior VP Jim Cicconi hit back at Sprint’s statement with… “With regard to Sprint’s recent statements about our transaction, we have always found that the most constructive course is to focus on our own strategies for serving our customers and building our business, rather than becoming distracted by challenging the business strategies of others.”
Obviously there are big battles ahead over the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA, battles that will no doubt not only pull in Sprint but maybe Verizon as well at some point. But what we would like to know is the customer’s views on this merger.
So what do our reader’s think about it all, is the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile a good idea or bad idea from a customer’s point of view, are you for or against the merger? Feel free to share your opinions to our comments area below.
Comments
2 thoughts on “AT&T, T-Mobile Merger, Sprint Opposes Acquisition”
“With regard to Sprint’s recent statements… the most constructive course is to focus on our own strategies… rather than …challenging the business strategies of others.” – Ouch! And the gloves are off!
Seriously though, I think Sprint is over-reacting a bit on this one. Yes, the proposed merger COULD mean AT&T will be a bit less inclined to compete with regards to pricing (T-Mo generally undercut AT&T plan rates) BUT, and this is a biggie, the fiercest competition in the last year or two has been in the prepaid sector, NOT between the four big contract carriers! They have been keeping pace with each other not only with regards pricing but also with plan changes (data usage especially).
Now if you look at the prepaid market you will see the likes of Straight Talk and others offering unlimited usage at $45! Try getting just an unlimited Talk package with the big four for under $80, never mind unlimited talk, texts and data, and you will see what I mean.
So consumers worried about this merger, and consumers worried about possible increases on their cell bill, should rather ask themselves what the hell they are still doing with AT&T in the first place.
Wow, totally agree. Changing to Straight Talk was like finally seeing the light for me. I can't believe I was spending so so much money when I was on a contract. I now have the Straight Talk $45 a month package that you are talking about. It's too good to be true. That is ALL I spend a month and I have UNLIMITED calls and messages. What are people still doing with other cell phone companies??