morboComplete Your Transaction join:2002-01-22 00000 |
morbo
Member
2013-Jan-22 10:00 am
Does this deal require Government approval?It's unclear from this article: does AT&T's plans to acquire Alltel require government approval? If so, is it anticipated to be approved easily? | |
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Re: Does this deal require Government approval?Yes, and it should be approved. After blocking T-Mobile AT&T complained the FCC was slow to approve spectrum deals and the FCC has sped up approval process somewhat... | |
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| | pandora Premium Member join:2001-06-01 Outland |
pandora
Premium Member
2013-Jan-22 2:20 pm
Re: Does this deal require Government approval?said by Karl Bode:Yes, and it should be approved. After blocking T-Mobile AT&T complained the FCC was slow to approve spectrum deals and the FCC has sped up approval process somewhat... I doubt it'll be blocked as AT&T has paid up, and the current administration isn't worried about getting itself re-elected. Opensecrets says AT&T gave about 5 million in campaign contributions and paid 15 million to lobbyists (most of whom were former government regulators). That's for 2012. A bit over 400 million dollars since 1990 and 1998 per opensecrets (affiliate lobbying records seem to go back only to 1998 in opensecrets). I tried, but can't figure out how to get a direct link to the AT&T lobbying record. You can see the individual lobbyists hired. It is amazing when you compare them and their prior governmental relationships. If you can't buy love, with enough cash, long enough, you may be able to buy a sizable portion of government. | |
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| FFH5 Premium Member join:2002-03-03 Tavistock NJ |
FFH5 to morbo
Premium Member
2013-Jan-22 11:44 am
to morbo
said by morbo:It's unclear from this article: does AT&T's plans to acquire Alltel require government approval? If so, is it anticipated to be approved easily? It needs FCC approval for sure. Will it need DOJ approval for anti-trust purposes? I expect they have to sign off too, but a small deal like this may just be an automatic DOJ approval. | |
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| Oh_NoTrogglus normalus join:2011-05-21 Chicago, IL |
to morbo
I cant see how it can be approved unless they force them to sell the spectrum. ATT has already been spectrum squatting defying the FCC rules that they must use the spectrum. Why would the FCC allow them to squat on more of the spectrum. Soon ATT is going to own all of it if they dont stop them. | |
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| | Cobra11M join:2010-12-23 Mineral Wells, TX |
Re: Does this deal require Government approval?thing is maybe the FCC is setting them up!, ha would it be something if our government forced all of them to share spectrum across the board! That's highly possible it will happen soon weather its 5 - 10 years down the road.. it will no doubt happen | |
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Re: Does this deal require Government approval?In 5 to 10 years, the FCC will change and so will most of DC. You can't say they're setting them up.
The thing though is, its expensive to build your own network, COX already found that out along with many other companies, why do you think VZW is mostly put together smaller companies along with AT&T Mobility? The cost of rebuilding those networks and such costs tooooo much for anyone to take on right now unless you build out a fully complete network and still will take you several years to get where AT&T and VZW are today. Hell, even Sprint can't keep up, but then again they could have started years ago. | |
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to morbo
Alltel is much smaller then T-mobile so it should be fine also alltel is a regional carrier | |
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spewakR.I.P Dadkins Premium Member join:2001-08-07 Elk Grove, CA ·Consolidated Com..
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spewak
Premium Member
2013-Jan-22 10:02 am
"Awaken the Kracken!!!"Granted nobody but AT&T really knows how much spectrum AT&T really needs, and competitors and consumer advocates alike continue to worry that AT&T is simply using their deep pockets to acquire additional spectrum to prevent new competitors from entering the market.
Nailed it! | |
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| FFH5 Premium Member join:2002-03-03 Tavistock NJ |
FFH5
Premium Member
2013-Jan-22 11:46 am
Re: "Awaken the Kracken!!!"said by spewak:Granted nobody but AT&T really knows how much spectrum AT&T really needs, and competitors and consumer advocates alike continue to worry that AT&T is simply using their deep pockets to acquire additional spectrum to prevent new competitors from entering the market.
Nailed it! They need the spectrum says Deloitte: » Deloitte: Spectrum Issues to Cause Network Congestion [21] comments | |
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| (Software) pfSense
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to spewak
Not even close. A statement like that really means they don't have a damn clue on what they are talking about. You can't make blanket generalized statements about spectrum because it is a per-market situation depending on the spectrum any given company has....and i can tell u AT&T is running short and behind Sprint, Tmobile, and VZW when it comes to clean spectrum for LTE. (mostly due to T-mobile's and VZW's recent AWS acquisition). | |
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| | Cobra11M join:2010-12-23 Mineral Wells, TX |
Re: "Awaken the Kracken!!!"AT&T is gonna be way behind after the tmobile and metro merge haha | |
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| PaladinSage of the light join:2001-08-17 Chester, IL |
to spewak
Most of the area in question is not currently served by AT&T.
It's not killing off a competitor, ATNI though their botched integration of the six markets they bought killed themselves. | |
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to spewak
"...consumer advocates alike continue to worry that AT&T is simply using their deep pockets to acquire additional spectrum to prevent new competitors from entering the market...."
The company whose logo is the "death star" would never do that!!! | |
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SrsBsns join:2001-08-30 Oklahoma City, OK |
SrsBsns
Member
2013-Jan-22 10:05 am
AT&T"We don't want to be the best wireless carrier. We want to be the only wireless carrier". | |
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AT&T doesn't know how to competeThey don't know how to compete. They only know how to conquer anyone who is being remotely competitive. I'm so happy they weren't allowed to buy T-Mobile. I'm enjoying my $24 per month cell phone bill so much! | |
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JasonOD
Anon
2013-Jan-22 11:05 am
Re: AT&T doesn't know how to competeDude, ATT didn't get to wherre they are today without competing and succeeding the the marketplace giving millions of new customers what they want and who find value in their services.
If you want to critisize, look at sprint's crippling nextel and clearwire debacles, which effectively took them out of the game as a legitimate provider. Or Verizon's selling out to a foreign carrier. | |
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| | cramer Premium Member join:2007-04-10 Raleigh, NC Westell 6100 Cisco PIX 501
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cramer
Premium Member
2013-Jan-22 12:20 pm
Re: AT&T doesn't know how to competeThey didn't "compete" with anything. They started out as a protected monopoly... Regional Bell Operating Companies ("RBOC") and as one of few Long Distance companies. They sleazed their way into wireless the way only people with billions can... they bought up all the real estate (and more than a few politicians.) How many wireless carriers have been bought up by AT&T to make today's AT&T Wireless?
If we're pointing fingers, we should be shaming every carrier. They all buy up spectrum and then sit on it. The FCC really should police this better, but a) they have no real power, and b) they're bought and sold just like the spectrum. | |
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| | | Cobra11M join:2010-12-23 Mineral Wells, TX |
Re: AT&T doesn't know how to competeIn the end AT&T and any other mono company always pays the price.. AT&T hasn't for a while but in the long run will and so will Verizon..
Once when customers realize theirs more choices then what their getting you will see these 2 drop.. but where still a long way from that. | |
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to cramer
Verizon started out as a RBOC and look where they are at. But i guess its okay that its a different company eh? | |
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to JasonOD
said by JasonOD :Or Verizon's selling out to a foreign carrier. That's a strange statement. If you're talking about Vodafone, it's shareholders feel sold out to Verizon. | |
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new wireless carriersGranted nobody but AT&T really knows how much spectrum AT&T really needs, and competitors and consumer advocates alike continue to worry that AT&T is simply using their deep pockets to acquire additional spectrum to prevent new competitors from entering the market.
What would the odds be of new competitors emerging though? Which company and/or group of investors is going to sink tens of billions of dollars into building a new nationwide wireless network? It's a mature market, for better or worse, and mature markets don't tend to see new outfits jumping into them with the forlorn hope of snatching market share away from their established competitors. More to the point, do we need a fifth nationwide wireless network? How much infrastructure duplication are you prepared to condone, and what happens if you overbuild and turn the industry into a bubble (think of the housing market) that later crashes?
A better policy approach would have been to give Sprint and T-Mobile priority access to better spectrum holdings. Verizon and AT&T should not have been allowed to gobble up the 700mhz bands freed by the sunsetting of analog TV. They already have 850mhz cellular licenses across most of the country, while T-Mobile and Sprint are forced to compete using less attractive PCS and AWS holdings (Sprint does have a limited amount of lower spectrum holdings inherited from Nextel's iDen network, not sure if it's enough to deploy LTE on though)
There's simply no way for Sprint and T-Mobile to compete on a level playing field when they are forced to use frequencies that don't penetrate as well as the ones AT&T and Verizon have. They can spend more capital to equal their coverage, or they can have an inferior product, neither approach is a recipe for success.
I'm not much for interference in the marketplace, but the airwaves are a public resource, and once upon a time we only issued licenses for them if it would advance the public good. We ought to get back to that mentality, IMHO, and create something of a level playing field in this industry. | |
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| cramer Premium Member join:2007-04-10 Raleigh, NC |
cramer
Premium Member
2013-Jan-22 12:23 pm
Re: new wireless carriers*cough*Lightsquared*cough* | |
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| Cobra11M join:2010-12-23 Mineral Wells, TX |
to Crookshanks
T-Mobile with Metro.. Metro last time I checked has some pretty good spectrum.. 700mhz, 1700mhz and 1900mhz
correct me if im wrong but that will def level the playing field in some markets..
And lets not forget about sprint and clear or also dish and lighsquared spectrum those combined are a pretty good force..
AT&T is only buying up spectrum now because they know if they don't the other guys will.. and thus could beat AT&T at its own game | |
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cchhat01Dr. Zoidberg join:2001-05-01 Elmhurst, NY |
This is the kind of shit that makes me wanna move to...another country... If the FCC approves this kind of crap then I will definitely contemplate moving to another country.
Seriously. Is it critical or vital for AT&T to go ahead and acquire another wireless carrier to survive.
Go f***ing ahead and kill anything that remotely resembles competition. F***ing A**holes. | |
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| MizzatWill post for thumbs Premium Member join:2003-05-03 Atlanta, GA
2 recommendations |
Mizzat
Premium Member
2013-Jan-22 10:58 am
Re: This is the kind of shit that makes me wanna move to...said by cchhat01:another country... If the FCC approves this kind of crap then I will definitely contemplate moving to another country.
Seriously. Is it critical or vital for AT&T to go ahead and acquire another wireless carrier to survive.
Go f***ing ahead and kill anything that remotely resembles competition. F***ing A**holes. Let us know how that works out for you! Bon Voyage! | |
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| | cchhat01Dr. Zoidberg join:2001-05-01 Elmhurst, NY |
Re: This is the kind of shit that makes me wanna move to...And that is what I mean. Thanks for that tidbit that sums up the response that everyone has when someone tries to make a legitimate point. When did we simply decide to not care? If people here can see the "problem" with mergers, why isn't it that we can't take action to ensure that such mergers don't go through. | |
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| | | (Software) pfSense
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Re: This is the kind of shit that makes me wanna move to...I'd prefer to see little remnants of something that used to be that wasn't doing anything or going anywhere get acquired by someone like AT&T. I hate small little regional carriers.
This will help AT&T in some of those markets if they are acquiring 850mhz or 700mhz where they didn't have it before. I'd rather see them get it than it going to waste.
And yes I live in a market where a small regional carrier called Centennial got bought out by AT&T. Centennial was GSM only, had a blanket 850mhz (AT&T did not have 850mhz) network that was going to waste because they weren't going to do anything cool with it (like launch HSPA). I also hated their plans and how they went about things. Ever since they were acquired things have been much much better.
Also in my market, USCC got bought out by Sprint which i am also glad to see because Sprint was crippled here due to lack of spectrum. Now Sprint will become a lot better which i prefer since they are more "national" than USCC (who i used to have as a provider and hated roaming everywhere else i went).
This small Alltel network isn't supposed to exist anyways because it was divested, it's just that no one bothered with picking it up until now so i don't know what the hell the fuss is all about. | |
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| | | | (Software) pfSense Asus RT-AC68 Asus RT-AC66
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Re: This is the kind of shit that makes me wanna move to...For a company this small, only half a million customers. I don't see this as being a big deal.
I'm more concerned about the only real competition to AT&T and Verizon, which is T-mobile and Sprint I think we need to make sure they have access to more spectrum as well.
Sadly the small regional wireless carriers just don't have the resources to keep up with the big 4 in a time of fairly rapidly evolving data networks. | |
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| | | | | FFH5 Premium Member join:2002-03-03 Tavistock NJ |
FFH5
Premium Member
2013-Jan-22 12:18 pm
Re: This is the kind of shit that makes me wanna move to...said by MovieLover76:For a company this small, only half a million customers. I don't see this as being a big deal.
I'm more concerned about the only real competition to AT&T and Verizon, which is T-mobile and Sprint I think we need to make sure they have access to more spectrum as well.
Sadly the small regional wireless carriers just don't have the resources to keep up with the big 4 in a time of fairly rapidly evolving data networks. Evidently Sprint has plenty of spectrum with more on the way in pending deals. | |
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Re: This is the kind of shit that makes me wanna move to...Pending deals such as with Clear? They had a good amount of spectrum before they decided to sell off Xhom to Clear and let them handle it. Sprint decided to become an MVNO and in the end suffered. And even with NV they're still suffering and won't be able to catch up, the huge costs of the iProducts that they're giving away, and the new network build will NOT net them what they need to keep up, even if Japan is allowed to take over Sprint, which does violate foreign ownership laws with the amount of spectrum that is in play. | |
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| | | | Cobra11M join:2010-12-23 Mineral Wells, TX |
to zephxiii
said by zephxiii:I'd prefer to see little remnants of something that used to be that wasn't doing anything or going anywhere get acquired by someone like AT&T. I hate small little regional carriers.
This will help AT&T in some of those markets if they are acquiring 850mhz or 700mhz where they didn't have it before. I'd rather see them get it than it going to waste.
And yes I live in a market where a small regional carrier called Centennial got bought out by AT&T. Centennial was GSM only, had a blanket 850mhz (AT&T did not have 850mhz) network that was going to waste because they weren't going to do anything cool with it (like launch HSPA). I also hated their plans and how they went about things. Ever since they were acquired things have been much much better.
Also in my market, USCC got bought out by Sprint which i am also glad to see because Sprint was crippled here due to lack of spectrum. Now Sprint will become a lot better which i prefer since they are more "national" than USCC (who i used to have as a provider and hated roaming everywhere else i went).
This small Alltel network isn't supposed to exist anyways because it was divested, it's just that no one bothered with picking it up until now so i don't know what the hell the fuss is all about. T-Mobile should get it haha | |
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| | | MizzatWill post for thumbs Premium Member join:2003-05-03 Atlanta, GA |
to cchhat01
said by cchhat01:And that is what I mean. Thanks for that tidbit that sums up the response that everyone has when someone tries to make a legitimate point. When did we simply decide to not care? If people here can see the "problem" with mergers, why isn't it that we can't take action to ensure that such mergers don't go through. Anyone that wants to move to another country because of a corporation buying another, I want to encourage to be as far away from me as possible. If you think there aren't major carriers or merges in the UK, Europe or otherwise, you're sadley mistaken. If you think you'll get a better deal there, wait till you see how much you have to pay for a good device. Good luck with your move. | |
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Re: This is the kind of shit that makes me wanna move to...Too bad that actual studies illustrate that our wireless and wireline telecommunications services are the least competitive and offer the worst value in the developed world.
I guess down there, you have no issue with walmart being the only major player, so this is no different. | |
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pepe93923042
Anon
2013-Jan-23 4:09 pm
Re: This is the kind of shit that makes me wanna move to...Please provide a link to the studies you are mentioning. Keep in mind the part about 'offer the worst value in the developed world' is extremely subjective, to say the least.
Right now in the U.S., the fact is, most consumers are simply too stupid to realize they do not need to stick with their current carriers/plans per se. They are too lazy to learn about prepaid options/unlimited plans/etc. The focus is unfortunately on 'how often can I upgrade my handset, and what will it cost to do so?' | |
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| FFH5 Premium Member join:2002-03-03 Tavistock NJ |
to cchhat01
said by cchhat01:another country... If the FCC approves this kind of crap then I will definitely contemplate moving to another country.
Seriously. Is it critical or vital for AT&T to go ahead and acquire another wireless carrier to survive.
Go f***ing ahead and kill anything that remotely resembles competition. F***ing A**holes. You are not being serious - just trying to make a point. Nobody, of sound judgement anyway, moves to another country because of cellphone service. | |
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| | CosmicDebriStill looking for intelligent life join:2001-09-01 Lake City, FL |
Re: This is the kind of shit that makes me wanna move to...said by FFH5:said by cchhat01:another country... If the FCC approves this kind of crap then I will definitely contemplate moving to another country. You are not being serious - just trying to make a point. Nobody, of sound judgement anyway, moves to another country because of cellphone service. Just because of cellphone service is just the tip of the iceberg. Who wants to stay in a country that has sold out everything to anyone with enough cash?? As in the government and large corporations breaking the law, and instead of getting punished they go and change the laws retroactively to make what they were doing legal?? What about our privacy rights being not just trampled on, but dug up and thrown in the shit pile?? Like the NSA not being able to even talk about if they are violating citizens privacy, because it would violate the privacy laws.... How about the 3/6 strikes ISP crap thats taking place, and presuming people guilty with no tangible proof and forcing them to pay to try and protest their innocence?? Does this sound like freedom to anyone?? If you told anyone that these things were taking place 10-20 years ago, they'd think you were talking about Communist China, or Russia.... but here we are in the land of the free and home of the brave..... in name only......... | |
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| PaladinSage of the light join:2001-08-17 Chester, IL |
to cchhat01
Uh, I hate to break this to you, but for the most part, AT&T is not eliminating competition in these markets. Normally I'm with you, but ATNI is the worst of the suck. I know, I live in an ATNI market. » greyflame.tumblr.com/pos ··· e-marketThis should explain to you why the acquisition is a good thing. | |
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| MizzatWill post for thumbs Premium Member join:2003-05-03 Atlanta, GA |
to cchhat01
The funniest part of this is that Verizon owns Alltel now, and it's basically being transferred to AT&T. But this guy is blowing an artery about it. | |
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phazah join:2004-05-02 Findlay, OH |
phazah
Member
2013-Jan-22 10:40 am
kinda sad...Bad enough ATT is pumping out inferior product under the dsl/uverse shell, now taking over another halfway ok smaller business(that is a shell of its old self).
no competition anymore.... | |
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IowaCowboyLost in the Supermarket Premium Member join:2010-10-16 Springfield, MA |
DivestituresHopefully this won't involve divestitures. Last time a carrier was bought out, AT&T and Verizon swapped customers. I want to remain a Verizon customer. My mother would rather be on AT&T though (she likes AT&T better, she thinks Verizon is predatory but I was able to convince her to go on to my VZW plan). | |
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Gobble!They were going to Gobble somebody up. Maybe T-Mobile will finally aquire MetroPCS and maybe LEAP? | |
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Re: Gobble!I'd guess Sprint will be the one to acquire Leap. Realistically, Sprint would have been the better buyer for both companies. They could then turn around and sell the AWS spectrum to T-Mobile and everyone would be happy. | |
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big_e
Member
2013-Jan-22 12:03 pm
Still costs 20 cents per text message.Maybe with all this extra spectrum, they will finally lower their horrendously overpriced texting charges. I think the odds are greater that I'd win the powerball lottery. | |
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There's a reason new-Alltel exists: divestituresThis is a bigger anti-trust issue than you'd think; the Bush administration didn't let the VZW-Alltel deal go through without making Verizon divest certain parts of the network that overlapped. Most of those went to AT&T. THe remainder...where both Verizon and AT&T had significant service on their own...went to ATN (new Alltel).There's a reason AT&T didn't get the spectrum and customers the first time.
Then again, ATN probably wants out at this point (it's tough being a spread-out small wireless carrier, competing against companies 100x your size), and maybe AT&T is really looking for ex-Commnet spectrum, which was never part of the old Alltel and thus isn't as big of a competitive issue.
But I don't trust the "not as much of a competitive issue" side when we're talking about a company that tried to become the only nationwide GSM provider in the US by purchasing a company whose footprint almost completely overlaps with AT&T's. | |
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Cobra11M join:2010-12-23 Mineral Wells, TX |
haeh, doesn't matter, T-Mobile & Metro is gonna be the best here in my city! | |
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doesn't benefit customerstrengthening the duopoly is NOT helping the consumer. rates for post paid accounts have NOT gone down, instead they've gone up and subisdies for cellphones is getting mighty thin just to be in contract..
if AT&T has almos 3/4 of a BILLION dollars to throw around, upgrade the wireline customers, but this lazy arrogant price gouging company wont' lift a finger to help consumers... just itself. | |
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kwbelt1 join:2006-06-03 Harrisburg, IL |
Kind of confused.I don't understand how AT&T would be allowed to buy the remaining Alltel markets since it wasn't allowed to buy them in 2006. Here in S. Illinois Alltel originally bought Fist Cellular of S. IL which had a mixed CDMA/GSM network. When Verizon bought Alltel they couldn't take over S. IL because they would have a monopoly on all the CDMA spectrum, AT&T tried to buy the area and wasn't allowed since they would then have a monopoly on GSM spectrum here. Since ATNI bought those spectrum then how could they sell any of it to either AT&T OR Verizon? I'm going to be pissed when I'm forced away from my unlimited data. | |
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pepe93927463
Anon
2013-Jan-23 4:09 pm
Re: Kind of confused.But how much data are you really averaging each month? | |
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BiggA Premium Member join:2005-11-23 Central CT |
BiggA
Premium Member
2013-Jan-22 7:27 pm
USCC's nextTheir spectrum is a good fit for AT&T. | |
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joako Premium Member join:2000-09-07 /dev/null |
joako
Premium Member
2013-Jan-23 1:40 am
Almost as confusing as AT&T itselfYou know, Cingular, AT&T Wireless, AT&T Mobility, AT&T Broadband, Bellsouth, SBC etc. Who could forget? quote: On June 5, 2008, Verizon Wireless announced it would acquire the majority of Alltel Wireless in a deal valued at $28.1 billion. The merger was approved by the Federal Communications Commission on the condition that Verizon divest 105 Alltel markets. On May 8, 2009, AT&T announced it would acquire 79 of the divested wireless properties, including licenses, network assets, and 1.5 million current subscribers, primarily in rural areas across 18 states.[4]
On April 26, 2010, Atlantic Tele-Network acquired the remaining 26 divested Alltel markets, including licenses, network assets and 800,000 subscribers.[5] These remaining markets continue to be operated by Allied Wireless, a subsidiary of ATN, under the Alltel name.
On January 22, 2013, AT&T announced they were acquiring Alltel from Atlantic Tele-Network for $780 million in cash
So basically they are buying the parts of Alltel that Verizon was forced not to buy... not the old Alltel which was a reasonably sized regional carrier. Or, to put it another way, Verizon bought approx 97% of Alltel and now AT&T is buying the remaining approx 3%. | |
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Wait what?Didn't Verizon buy Alltel years ago? Did I miss something? | |
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