AT&T plans for T-mobile customers - higher prices, GSM monopoly

[suffragette]

Yep, that's AT&T creating a monopoly again, this time for a type of network, since AT&T and T-mobile were the GSM networks for the U.S. GSM is used more widely worldwide, so people who prefer having a world-wide phone will no longer have a choice of carriers.


http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/20/atandt-agrees-to-buy-t-mobile-from-deutsche-telekom/

Wowzers! AT&T and Deutsche Telekom have entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of T-Mobile USA for $39 billion in cash and stocks. The combined customer base of this upcoming behemoth will be 130 million humans, though the agreed deal will have to pass the usual regulatory and closing hurdles before becoming complete. The two companies estimate it'll take them 12 months to get through all the bureaucracy -- if they get through, the proposed network merger will create a de facto GSM monopoly within the United States -- but we don't have to wait that long to start discussing life with only three major US carriers. AT&T envisions it as a rosy garden of "straightforward synergies" thanks to a set of "complementary network technologies, spectrum positions and operations."




T-mobile actually has some nicely priced plans, especially for those like me who have what is called a "grandfathered" plan. Mine works well enough for me that I've kept it for years after the contract instead of taking a newer offer. So, I have one of those plans the AT&T CEO "will look hard at" if the deal is allowed. And it looks like my options will be: leave for a non-GSM plan or sign up for a new, much more costly plan.




http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7483288.html

The effect of reduced competition in the cellphone industry is harder to fathom. Public interest group Public Knowledge said that eliminating one of the four national phone carriers would be “unthinkable.”
“We know the results of arrangements like this — higher prices, fewer choices, less innovation,” said Public Knowledge president Gigi Sohn, in a statement.
T-Mobile has relatively cheap service plans compared with AT&T, particularly when comparing the kind that don’t come with a two-year contract. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said one of the goals of the acquisition would be to move T-Mobile customers to smart phones, which have higher monthly fees. AT&T “will look hard” at keeping T-Mobile’s no-contract plans, he said.


Crap.

[Angry Dragon]

1. anti-trust

[Jackpine Radical]

4. How quaint.

[Angry Dragon]

6. I guess I am just an old fashioned kinda guy

:hi:

[truebrit71]

5. I wish...

..but not in this day and age...this will get blessed, just like the NBC/Comcrap deal did...

Fewer and fewer corporations hold more and more of our communications in their hands...and it ain't by accident..dontcha just love free-market capitalism...:sarcasm:

[suffragette]

14. Sadly, I agree with you.

[ThomCat]

24. When was the last time our government bothered to prosecute

any big name corporation for anti-trust violations?

Do you really think they are going to start breaking up any big corporations now?

Do you really think the army of lobbyists in Washington would allow that to happen?

[ananda]

2. Double crap.

This is just so fucking nasty.

[suffragette]

25. Yep, it is that.

[truebrit71]

3. I hate AT&T/NSA and love(d) T-Mobile...

...once my contract is up I will have to look around and see what's available..maybe Creedo..

[Sherman A1]

9. one option would be to extend your contract now.

I am looking at doing that with my current T-mobile family 1000 minute plan.

[suffragette]

13. I've been out of contract for a long time now

Haven't talked to T-mobile about that for awhile either, since the last couple times I did even the reps noted my great grandfathered plan is better than the newer ones and that I should keep it.

And from what the AT&T CEO has said, it looks like my type of plan will be the 1st ones getting changed.

[pintobean]

17. They still have their Even More Plus plans.

They no longer promote it, but they still have it. I just switched after my contract was up. I get 3 times as many minutes for the same price and there's no contract. That lower price just means no "free" phones. My wife's phone shot craps and I bought one on Ebay for 60 bucks. The "free" phone family plans are 20 bucks a month more.

[suffragette]

23. It looks to me like these no-contract plans will be the first to go

with the CEO saying he "will look hard" at them.

[hlthe2b]

7. Credo, Cricket and Virign are all using Sprint to access...

And this does not bode well for the long term viability of Sprint. Unless they have a rabbit in their hat that is totally unclear, I think Sprint is really going to struggle (and as a current Sprint customer that detests both Verizon and AT&T, that bothers me a lot).

[Sonicwall]

27. Actually I would see people switching to Sprint ASAP

Many of them have switched from AT&T when they began the caps, and I'm pretty sure that Sprint will benefit - they already have their stuff up and running - 4G, great phones, etc.

I have an Epic and I love it. I drain the battery to death every single day. *sigh*

[mwooldri]

28. Sprint can still do well, but the company would need to split IMO.

There would be Sprint "Network". They'd just work on doing network stuff and making sure there's cell phone coverage.

Then you can have "Sprint" with the phones and customer service and all that nice stuff.

Sprint "Network" would only have to handle a few big customers.

The rest of Sprint can flog the phones and do that nice customer service stuff. They'd be a Sprint "Network" customer of course

I don't know which bit of Sprint is more profitable - the operation of the actual wireless phone network or the selling and servicing of wireless devices?

This means that there would be an open network, ready and willing to take allcomers to operate a virtual mobile telephone network. Google Wireless anyone? Sprint and Google have already announced a deal that will effectively bring Google Voice to Sprints' devices.

[SpiralHawk]

8. "Eat static and die (after paying)" - AT & T-mobile (R)

Eom

[Shandris]

10. AT&T's brand new Terms of Service they just sent out also...

...specifically invalidates your ability to pursue a Class-Action Lawsuit against them. You 'waive' your right when using their service, and using it one time constitutes agreement.

They got burned pretty badly (well...badly for a major corporation, which roughly means about .1% of the profit they made from the theft) by a C-A involving high speed internet not being as high as they sold it as. Guess they figured they'd force the issue.

Shit like that should get some white collar workers imprisoned or worse. Seriously, if you want to clean up corporate crime, let's start getting some of these bastards convicted and bunked with Bruce the Murderer who hasn't seen a woman in 25 years, that shit'll stop REAL fucking quick.

Good luck to those of you who had T-Mobile. :(

[msongs]

18. not sure ATT can force you to waive any rights under the US constitution nt

[Xithras]

11. I'll stay as long as they honor my existing no-term contract.

I left AT&T many years ago for TMo, because I really preferred TMobiles "no term contracts". It became pretty obvious last year that things were changing when they stopped offering the no-contract plans and started pushing pre-pay service instead. TMobile has been awesome for those of us who just want to pay a flat rate bill every month, and don't want to deal with the hassles of buying minutes or getting stuck in two-year contracts.

If AT&T honors our existing contracts and pricing, but shifts us onto the larger AT&T network to improve our service area, I'll be happy. I don't see that happening though.

[spartan61]

12. I dropped AT&T last summer because I found that I

wasn't using all my monthly minutes and I had over 9,000 roll over minutes. Now I have a Tracfon and like it better. My husband had an AT&T GoPhone but he couldn't use it in most of Maine because you had to be near an AT&T tower to get srvice. With a Tracfon, they use all the towers.

[RKP5637]

16. I really like TracFone here, but it's on T-Mobile. Now I guess that'll be under AT&T. I wonder

how that's going to work out with TracFone. I think TracFone is a superior service to all of them. I cut my service from $90/mo. for two Verizon phones down to $17/mo. with the Family Value Plan. We did not need all of the minutes Verizon was forcing us to buy.

[RKP5637]

15. Guaranteed the customer will not benefit from this monopoly. That, went out a

long time ago. They want to get it so you don't even have a F'en choice. USA, Inc. Corporations first, people last.

[SharonAnn]

29. And this time, it's an unregulated monopoly.

[BadgerKid]

19. Smart phones = forced data plan.

That bites. Compared to resold wireless, you get hit double: once for the monthly call package, once for the required data plan.

[suffragette]

22. Exactly

Right now I get 1 MB data for free.

[truebrit71]

20. I just called T-Mobile and they told me to re-up in the next 6 months..

..if I wanted to 'lock-in' a contract and guarantee my rates can't go up for 2 years...I was also told that even if I didn't re-up at the end of my contract, the terms would stay in effect until I changed something on my plan..in other words i'd be grandfathered with the plan I have now (which is perfect...unlimited messaging, unlimited data, 1000 family minutes for three lines..all for under $150/mo)...I still think i will re-up another contract so that i am iron-clad and AT&T-NSA can't fuck with me until 2013..

[suffragette]

21. I guess I'll need to contact them to see how it works for out-of-contract

The problem is my plan is so old, it's no longer offered so I'm not sure how, or if, that would work.

T-Mobile, no contract (expired long ago)
$29.99: 300 anytime mins w/ unlimited weekends (old "NW T-Zone Talk & Text"" plan)
includes: T-Zones 1MB data (also grandfathered from years ago)
300 text messages
WorldClass Int'l rate

[upi402]

26. corporatism sux n/t

[suffragette]

30. That it does, upi402, that it absolutely does