ATT is damned if they do, and damned if they don't.
Whenever have they don't-ed?
They get blasted daily for not building their network.
AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion
171–180 of 211 posts
Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion
#172I guess this means that I am going to have to switch to Sprint. I really like T-Mobile. They are a great company and I loved their service and pricing. It is going to be sad to not have T-Mobile in the states anymore.
Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
Having the government decided which technologies can be used might have had some benefits here but it seems like there would be a lot less work on making technologies better and a lot more work on lobbying if that were the case.
While I don't think the mandate would have been a good idea, I don't think you can use the US as a case for 'making the technologies better'. We're way behind everybody else...
Mandates worked for TV standards (original standard def). Then when high def came around, everyone was lobbying for their own formats with too many official formats.
Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion
#174it's a sad, sad day for the wireless industry and an even sadder day for us consumers...
Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion
#175It'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…
> Wireless really is a mess in the US. Europe and Australia have really benefited from choosing one technology (GSM). How are pricing plans in the US when you are roaming beyond your state? I live in Sweden, where I have a decently priced data and call plan. However, as soon as I go outside of Sweden, which is a small country (9M people), I have to pay roaming charges. I don't mind so much the call charges, but they…
Data roaming in Europe is truly painful. As far as covering a large geographic area, the US carriers sell plans that are convenient to use within the US.
Yes, I can get another SIM, but then I have to tell everyone who may call me that I have changed number for that week, which is not really workable.
Right now I'm travelling in Australia and have settled on getting a local pre-paid SIM with a few GB of data included. I purchased a Skype-online number and am forwarding my US Google Voice number to my Skype number, which I can answer either with Skype running on my phone (Nexus One) or directly with my phone (via Skype forwarding). Additionally I can tether my phone to my netbook via USB or wifi. (The people at Vodafone AU spent about 15 minutes trying to figure out if that was allowed on a pre-paid SIM.)
This is not exactly a simple solution, but is working for me on the road to make relatively cheap calls and I'm always reachable (when I want to be).
I'm not very optimistic about what will happen to my T-mobile bill with AT&T buying them.
Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
This makes me sad. TMobile has the best (least restrictive, least expensive) prepaid plan of all the major carriers. AT&T has one of the worst.
Yep. $100 for 1000 minutes with a 15% bonus on the next refill, 1 year expiration. For folks who hardly ever use their voice minutes, nothing else even comes close. Grrr. (Well, there's Virgin Mobile, but they have almost no network -- I think it's Sprint w/o any roaming onto Verizon.)
Actually at&t prepaid is about the same.
$100, 10 cents/minute, 1 year expiration = 1000 minutes
Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Wireless really is a mess in the US. Europe and Australia have really benefited from choosing one technology (GSM). How are pricing plans in the US when you are roaming beyond your state? I live in Sweden, where I have a decently priced data and call plan. However, as soon as I go outside of Sweden, which is a small country (9M people), I have to pay roaming charges. I don't mind so much the call charges, but they…
Data roaming in Europe is truly painful. As far as covering a large geographic area, the US carriers sell plans that are convenient to use within the US. Yes, I can get another SIM, but then I have to tell everyone who may call me that I have changed number for that week, which is not really workable. Right now I'm travelling in Australia and have settled on getting a local pre-paid SIM with a few GB of data included…
Google Voice eliminates the problem of having to tell people to call you at a different number. As I understand it this was Grand Central's motivation for developing the technology in the first place.
Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion
#178Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion
#179I might be in the minority but I just don't see this as a good deal. It reminds me of when Wachovia bought Golden West in a forced effort to seek growth.
ATT's stated desire to catch up to Verizon while losing customers seems like an internal issue that just can't be bought away.
On a personal note. I left Sprint for Nextel years ago to see it bought. And I left ATT in November for T-Mobile and well....
Re: AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
Absent a massive technological shift --- which may be coming and which AT&T and Verizon are powerless to stop ... What are you thinking of?
Nothing specific other than the ubiquity of RF in modern consumer electronics designs and off-the-shelf hardware becoming powerful enough to handle software radio with minimal hardware assistance. The thing that makes the "OMG $0.20 SMS PAY TO TETHER WTF" people isn't going to be a better cell carrier; it's going to be something that obsoletes cell carriers. Look at the RIDICULOUS PHONE you have in your pocket right…
There were a lot of similar phones in 2005. The two main differences are app ecosystems and capacitive screens. Both apps and touchscreens existed back then. What we have today isn't magical or revolutional, but just evolution, and slow at that.
My Dell Axim had a 624 MHz CPU, 256 MB, wifi, Bluetooth, 3,7 inch VGA screen, TV-out and two card slots, one that could be used to upgrade it. 2005.