AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion • Hacker News Board

Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion

#111

Post by bradleyland » Sun, Mar 20, 2011, 8:48 PM UTC

Anechoic wrote: post #39

cletus wrote: post #30

It's a natural fit for AT&T to buy T-Mobile. They both 3G GSM (UMTS) technology. T-Mobile is probably better in some key markets than AT&T, most notably New York (City). The one issue with T-Mobile is it uses the fairly nonstandard 1870 MHz frequency. I don't know of any other carrier that does (anywhere). I assume this is because AT&T has the rights to the more common frequencies in the relevant markets? I wonder wh…

> I can see this acquisition facing some serious regulatory and legislative scrutiny. One can hope, but I'm not holding my breath. My guess is that FTC and FCC will make some comments, AT&T will make some small gestures, the deal gets approved and about a year later AT&T's plans increase in price by 15-20%.

If by "some comments" you mean hand waiving, and "small gestures" you mean agree to roll out LTE to a few major markets in exchange for a couple billion in tax credits, you're probably spot on.

Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion

#112

Post by ajays » Sun, Mar 20, 2011, 8:51 PM UTC

Now all we need is for Verizon and ATT to merge, and Ma Bell will be reincarnated.

Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion

#113

Post by Osiris » Sun, Mar 20, 2011, 8:56 PM UTC

Are there any chipsets out there that could support both AT&T (1900) and T-mobile 3G (1700) frequencies? Since one of the main reasons for the merger is for spectrum, it seems that AT&T must be planning on utilizing T-mobile's spectrum in the future to improve reach and reliability, so it would make sense for them to provide phones that support both frequencies.

Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion

#114

Post by mmastrac » Sun, Mar 20, 2011, 8:58 PM UTC

sklnd wrote: post #80

cletus wrote: post #30

It's a natural fit for AT&T to buy T-Mobile. They both 3G GSM (UMTS) technology. T-Mobile is probably better in some key markets than AT&T, most notably New York (City). The one issue with T-Mobile is it uses the fairly nonstandard 1870 MHz frequency. I don't know of any other carrier that does (anywhere). I assume this is because AT&T has the rights to the more common frequencies in the relevant markets? I wonder wh…

> The one issue with T-Mobile is it uses the fairly nonstandard 1870 MHz frequency. I don't know of any other carrier that does (anywhere). I think you mean GSM/UMTS band II (PCS), as 1870 is in the uplink portion of PCS (1850–1910MHz). That's a pretty standard frequency in North America. All four major US carriers (ATT, T-Mo, Verizon, and Sprint) operate in it (CDMA band class 1 overlaps with UMTS band II), as well…

FWIW, Wind Mobile in Canada also uses AWS. The rest of the Canadian providers match AT&T.

Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion

#115

Post by anigbrowl » Sun, Mar 20, 2011, 8:59 PM UTC

amock wrote: post #20

dres wrote: post #7

This is complete bullshit, and would give AT&T an effective monopoly on GSM based wireless communications in a number of key markets. I say we collectively work to lobby against this deal, as it will be bad for all of us who are based in the US and looking to do ANYTHING in mobile. Imagine if Apple had tried to get their iPhone AppStore arrangement in a single-GSM carrier world? It's 2011, folks. We can't let oppress…

Why does it matter that they're the only GSM provider? Why aren't other technologies competition?

Two words: Nexus One.

Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion

#116

Post by natnat » Sun, Mar 20, 2011, 9:00 PM UTC

zavulon wrote: post #69

I guess I don't understand how anti-trust laws work. Didn't they break up "Ma Bell" a few years ago specifically to prevent monopolies? And since then, AT&T bought Cingular, now T-Mobile, and they pretty much have a monopoly on GSM, if not on all mobile phones.

Anti-trust laws are enforced when and only when the political pressure from people who feel like they're being abused by a monopoly exceeds the political pressure from that monopoly's lobbyists.

Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion

#117

Post by nickbp » Sun, Mar 20, 2011, 9:03 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #21

Legion wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole thing will change - because what GSM provider in the US are they going to worry about people unlocking and switching to? The release says this will "enhance [AT&T's] network capacity". That means T-Mobile isn't likely to exist as a separate thing that's just owned by AT&T. It's pretty certain to be rolled directly into AT&T. It's Cingular 2.0.

... which is probably a good thing, from an efficiency standpoint.

Using that reasoning, so is a dictatorship.

Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion

#118

Post by nickbp » Sun, Mar 20, 2011, 9:04 PM UTC

suninwinter wrote: post #76

I wonder if this means that the percentage of Android phones that can't sideload direct from the carrier is going to go up. From what I understand, T-mobile doesn't block that, but AT&T does.

AT&T also blocks installation of non-market software on their Android phones, so if you wanted to install a recent build of ConnectBot or whatever, you were SOL. That is, unless your phone can be rooted/reimaged.

Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion

#119

Post by asnyder » Sun, Mar 20, 2011, 9:04 PM UTC

As a new T-Mobile customer who recently switched from AT&T this saddens me. I finally thought I found a decent provider with their Even More Plus plans. So much for choice and competition.

Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion

#120

Post by minalecs » Sun, Mar 20, 2011, 9:09 PM UTC

nola wrote: post #93

akgerber wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Smartphones are only getting cheaper. My smartphone is an LG Optimus V, which was $150 without a contract (but it's bound to Virgin Mobile, a prepaid carrier). By my estimation the phone is all-around better than a 3G iPhone. Obviously I probably got the phone somewhere near at-cost (considering how hard the RadioShack employees push you against buying it) but smartphones will be dirt cheap soon enough.

I've been having problems with my Optimus V through Virgin Mobile. It crashes in call (total power off); data availability hasn't been stable (I would say about once a week I have significant issues where I won't be able to use email, a browser, etc. for the entire day); maps/GPS is iffy; I think there are some interface design flaws.* I used to have an iPhone 3G. I thought it was great. I switched to VM for the plan…

I have Optimus V running AOSP Android 2.3( custom rom ) and it runs amazingly, underclocks when not in use , overclocks when using, great battery life and responsiveness. For the value of the phone and not being on a contract its an amazing deal.