[barbarianthemadserb]

I just read this on Phandroid!


United States Government Files Anti-Trust Complaint to Block AT&T�s Purchase of AT&T(Tmobile, I think writer wrote too fast in original article)
by Quentyn Kennemer on August 31st, 2011 at 10:52 am 0 Comments


This is perhaps the biggest move in this case yet. The United States government (Department of Justice, to be exact) has reportedly filed with the Justice Department to block AT&T�s acquisition of T-Mobile for $39 billion, citing anti-trust laws being violated as AT&T would be taking substantial competition off the market. "AT&T�s elimination of T-Mobile [...]

[rollingrock1988]

Thank God.

Screw that merger.

[JasW]

Here's the Bloomberg report. Note the last paragraph.

U.S. Files Antitrust Complaint to Block AT&T, T-Mobile Merger
By Tom Schoenberg - Aug 31, 2011

The U.S. government sued to block AT&T Inc. (T)’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA Inc., saying the deal would “substantially lessen competition” in the wireless market. AT&T shares fell as much as 5 percent.

In the complaint filed today in federal court in Washington, the U.S. is seeking a declaration that Dallas-based AT&T’s takeover of T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE), would violate U.S. antitrust law. The U.S. also asked for a court order blocking any arrangement implementing the deal.

“AT&T’s elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low- priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market,” the U.S. said in its filing.

Should regulators reject the deal, which would create the biggest U.S. wireless carrier, AT&T would have to pay Deutsche Telekom $3 billion in cash. It would also provide T-Mobile USA with wireless spectrum in some regions and reduced charges for calls into AT&T’s network, for a total package valued at as much as $7 billion, Deutsche Telekom said this month.

Philipp Schindera, a spokesman at Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom, declined to immediately comment on the filing. Jessica Smith, a Justice Department spokeswoman, declined to comment on the suit. Michael Balmoris, an AT&T spokesman, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail and phone calls seeking comment.
Shares Drop

AT&T fell $1.02, or 3.4 percent, to $28.60 at 10:55 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading after declining as much as $1.49. Deutsche Telekom American depositary receipts dropped as much as 6.4 percent, to $12.93.

The purchase of Bellevue, Washington-based T-Mobile would combine the second- and fourth-largest carriers to create a new market leader ahead of No. 1 Verizon Wireless. The new company would have dwarfed current No. 3 carrier Sprint Nextel Corp., which argued against the deal. Overland Park, Kansas-based Sprint’s shares jumped as much as 9.9 percent.

Some U.S. lawmakers have said the deal may reduce competition and raise consumer costs. The Federal Communications Commission has given itself more time to study new data presented by AT&T.
Economic Models

AT&T in a July 25 filing at the FCC submitted new economic models that it said showed the merger would lower prices and increase service in large metropolitan markets. The models offer “further detailed support” for arguments that the merger will lessen strains on the company’s wireless network, lower costs and increase quality, AT&T said in the filing.

“Given the size of the cancellation fee that was negotiated into his agreement, AT&T has the incentive to fight,” said Andrew Gavil, a law professor at Howard University in Washington. “The fact that the Justice Department is challenging the deal doesn’t mean they won’t negotiate a resolution at some point.”

The case is U.S. v. AT&T Inc., 11-01560, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Washington).

U.S. Files Antitrust Complaint to Block AT&T, T-Mobile Merger - Bloomberg

[jacko007]

Good news! Competition is always good for customers.

[eds817]

NY Times

“The department filed its lawsuit because we believe the combination of AT&T and T-Mobile would result in tens of millions of consumers all across the United States facing higher prices, fewer choices and lower quality products for their mobile wireless services,” said James M. Cole, the deputy attorney general.

Lets keep out fingers crossed.

[BBtoiPhone]

I like the T-Mobile purchase.. You are all speculating that the prices would go up, the bottom line is none of us know for sure, att even stated in their filling with the FCC that it would lower cost

[trsbbs]

I like the T-Mobile purchase.. You are all speculating that the prices would go up, the bottom line is none of us know for sure, att even stated in their filling with the FCC that it would lower cost

When was the last time ATT lowered any of their prices?
You want to pay for Bridge web access?
ATT also said they will block the NFC function on the new BB phones.
They haven't even brought out the new touch Bold yet. They are anti-Blackberry!

ATT lies like a rug.

Tim

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold

[rollingrock1988]

I like the T-Mobile purchase.. You are all speculating that the prices would go up, the bottom line is none of us know for sure..Maybe they would drop...

In what alternate universe would they go down? ATT ALREADY gouges their customers for crap service and customer service. They are apart of an old breed in the communications industry that believe in monopolizing and overcharging. Why do you think their sister company VZW is cool with them merger. ATT and VZW charge similar prices so it's in VZW's interest to condone it.

[flyersfan76]

I wonder if this process will be longer or shorter than the SiriusXM merger.

[Danf]

AT&T the once monolithic monopoly of the land line phone business that got broken up by anti trust lawsuits and once again striving to be a monopoly, this time in the cellular phone business.

The Leopard truly does not change it's spots.

[sf49ers]

I like the T-Mobile purchase.. You are all speculating that the prices would go up, the bottom line is none of us know for sure, att even stated in their filling with the FCC that it would lower cost

here is a nice read, a perspective what it means to the consumers, the rate hike won't happen overnight but slowly ..surely.

Why the DOJ was Right and Pro-Capitalist to Block AT&T - T-Mobile - Forbes

[weaselnoze]

When was the last time ATT lowered any of their prices?
You want to pay for Bridge web access?
ATT also said they will block the NFC function on the new BB phones.
They haven't even brought out the new touch Bold yet. They are anti-Blackberry!

ATT lies like a rug.

Tim

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold

01/10 - AT&T lowers unlimited talk plan 30% (99.99 > 69.99)

06/10 - AT&T moves to tiered data plans ($30 > $25/$15)
(I know what you are all thinking on this one. wha wahaa at&t is taking away peoples unlimited blah blah blah. I've been selling AT&T for 4 years full time and I can honestly say it is an incredibly SMALL amount of people that actually exceed 2GBs of data. MAYBE 2%. So for 98% of us, we are SAVING MONEY. $5 to $15 bucks a month! I have seen a HUGE influx of people now willing to shell out $15 bucks a month for a smartphone. This allows people who wouldnt otherwise get a blackberry/smartphone to get one! So in essence, it IS saving people money.)

02/11 - AT&T offers UNLIMITED phone calls to ANY CELL PHONE ON ANY CARRIER. Do you have any idea how many people dropped their 2100 minute rate plan down to 700 because of this? thats a $40 savings (not including taxes)!

So I can count THREE major price drops in the past 1.5 years. Not to mention the price of smartphones has gone down exponentially. I Paid $399 for my Bold 9000 under a 2 year contract! (or was it 499.99....?) Now look at the $49.99 Torch...

[Daisy1960]

Will T-Mobile be hurt if the merger doesn't go through?

[rollingrock1988]

Will T-Mobile be hurt if the merger doesn't go through?

No.

I think they should merge with sprint rather than be considered an acquisition. Sprint is already investing in LTE, this would only make their roll out faster and more competitive.

Plus they would still have all you can eat data plans which is great.

[sf49ers]

Will T-Mobile be hurt if the merger doesn't go through?

No, as per their agreement ATT will have to pay T-mobile $3 billion in cash and another $4 billion worth goodies like access to their network etc. if the deal doesn't fall through.

[Rootbrian]

No.

I think they should merge with sprint rather than be considered an acquisition. Sprint is already investing in LTE, this would only make their roll out faster and more competitive.

Plus they would still have all you can eat data plans which is great.

Unlimited everything like windmobile (Smart plan + data + voicemail = $42.05/month) I like the sound of that allot.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[trsbbs]

01/10 - AT&T lowers unlimited talk plan 30% (99.99 > 69.99)



06/10 - AT&T moves to tiered data plans ($30 > $25/$15)

(I know what you are all thinking on this one. wha wahaa at&t is taking away peoples unlimited blah blah blah. I've been selling AT&T for 4 years full time and I can honestly say it is an incredibly SMALL amount of people that actually exceed 2GBs of data. MAYBE 2%. So for 98% of us, we are SAVING MONEY. $5 to $15 bucks a month! I have seen a HUGE influx of people now willing to shell out $15 bucks a month for a smartphone. This allows people who wouldnt otherwise get a blackberry/smartphone to get one! So in essence, it IS saving people money.)



02/11 - AT&T offers UNLIMITED phone calls to ANY CELL PHONE ON ANY CARRIER. Do you have any idea how many people dropped their 2100 minute rate plan down to 700 because of this? thats a $40 savings (not including taxes)!



So I can count THREE major price drops in the past 1.5 years. Not to mention the price of smartphones has gone down exponentially. I Paid $399 for my Bold 9000 under a 2 year contract! (or was it 499.99....?) Now look at the $49.99 Torch...

Try comparing their packages and prices to let say US cellular. They have one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings around.
Att just finished dead last out of the top 4 carriers.

You work for ATT (sales wise) and are proud of ATT, that's cool. But you may not be seeing the whole picture.

Tim

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold

[robert_in_la]

Try comparing their packages and prices to let say US cellular. They have one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings around.
Att just finished dead last out of the top 4 carriers.

You work for ATT (sales wise) and are proud of ATT, that's cool. But you may not be seeing the whole picture.

Tim

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold

I would go step further and compare AT&T's prices to TMO which is roughly $30 a month more. AT&T might have drop their prices but overall they, Verizon is the worse, are still a bit high.

Also when the DOJ files against a merger they have a very, very high success rate at trial. That in and of itself will stop the merger from going forward for at least a year or longer.

[phonegeek#AC]

Folks don't read too much into this. This deal will get done. All this is about is politics, it has absolutely nothing to do with competition, fighting for consumers, or any of that crap. Its politics plain and simple.

Obama is losing his base and this is nothing more than a high profile distraction that will mean nothing because DOJ knows full well when it goes to court that even after the deal is done there still will be at least 4 carriers in each of the top 100 markets. There will be a lot of talk and a lot of soundbites but at the end of the day DOJ can't look at a judge and say competition doesn't exist.

PG

[_StephenBB81]

Try comparing their packages and prices to let say US cellular. They have one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings around.
Att just finished dead last out of the top 4 carriers.

You work for ATT (sales wise) and are proud of ATT, that's cool. But you may not be seeing the whole picture.

Tim

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold

I'm sorry but he replied DIRECTLY to your quote of
When was the last time ATT lowered any of their prices?" and he showed you, so you want to back peddle and say wait wait, not compare to other players.

What is T-Mo's coverage Map compared to AT&T?


I saw someone mention Windmobile in this thread with unlimited everything for a low price, except coverage, they have NO coverage, geographically what 10% of the country has full coverage?

In Canada I was forced to move from Bell to Rogers, and Pay more for Rogers because Rogers has the largest 3G GSM coverage map in the country, and coverage is worth paying for.

[Economist101]

You have to be mindful of those "ant-trust" complaints.

[dkingsf]

Folks don't read too much into this. This deal will get done. All this is about is politics, it has absolutely nothing to do with competition, fighting for consumers, or any of that crap. Its politics plain and simple.

Obama is losing his base and this is nothing more than a high profile distraction that will mean nothing because DOJ knows full well when it goes to court that even after the deal is done there still will be at least 4 carriers in each of the top 100 markets. There will be a lot of talk and a lot of soundbites but at the end of the day DOJ can't look at a judge and say competition doesn't exist.

PG

This really isn't politics. As this article states, the legal issues won out on this. This suit to stop the merger surprised a lot of people, not because it was unexpected, rather because it was filed way sooner than anyone expected.

Whither T-Mobile USA? - Seeking Alpha

This merger is dead in the water. I don't believe that T will be liable for the breakup fee if this is stopped by the DOJ. I think T would need to walk away. So, if T does decide not to litigate, the the fee applies. If they fight and lose then the fee does not. Either way, this is going to be expensive for T.

[phonegeek#AC]

This really isn't politics. As this article states, the legal issues won out on this. This suit to stop the merger surprised a lot of people, not because it was unexpected, rather because it was filed way sooner than anyone expected.

Whither T-Mobile USA? - Seeking Alpha

This merger is dead in the water. I don't believe that T will be liable for the breakup fee if this is stopped by the DOJ. I think T would need to walk away. So, if T does decide not to litigate, the the fee applies. If they fight and lose then the fee does not. Either way, this is going to be expensive for T.

This merger is anything but dead. I agree TMO wouldn't be on the hook if it were and yes DOJ filing suit was a surprise to everyone. Just because a suit was filed does NOT mean the deal is dead and the details in DOJs suit have already been refuted...

In the end we'll just have to watch and see.

PG

[oldbold]

the article i read stated that t-mobile will not be sinking any more cash into the development of t-mobile usa. the way i read it, is that if att does not buy, then our service will gradually decay and fall behind the other cell phone providers.

[dfaris]

01/10 - AT&T lowers unlimited talk plan 30% (99.99 > 69.99)

06/10 - AT&T moves to tiered data plans ($30 > $25/$15)
(I know what you are all thinking on this one. wha wahaa at&t is taking away peoples unlimited blah blah blah. I've been selling AT&T for 4 years full time and I can honestly say it is an incredibly SMALL amount of people that actually exceed 2GBs of data. MAYBE 2%. So for 98% of us, we are SAVING MONEY. $5 to $15 bucks a month! I have seen a HUGE influx of people now willing to shell out $15 bucks a month for a smartphone. This allows people who wouldnt otherwise get a blackberry/smartphone to get one! So in essence, it IS saving people money.)

02/11 - AT&T offers UNLIMITED phone calls to ANY CELL PHONE ON ANY CARRIER. Do you have any idea how many people dropped their 2100 minute rate plan down to 700 because of this? thats a $40 savings (not including taxes)!

So I can count THREE major price drops in the past 1.5 years. Not to mention the price of smartphones has gone down exponentially. I Paid $399 for my Bold 9000 under a 2 year contract! (or was it 499.99....?) Now look at the $49.99 Torch...

Not a single one of these was done because AT&T cares about its customers. it was done because (get ready for it) of COMPETITION or for the case of tiered plans the AT&T network cant handle all the IPhone customers and the service went to crap so they had to cut people off. If it was only 2% or 20% using 2 or 4 gigs a month it does not matter the network cant handle it so they removed a perk, yet they still keep adding more and more customers knowing the network cant handle it. Now they nickel and dime the customers to death like trying to charge for the playbook bridge instead of investing in the company.

Tell me again how competition is bad for the consumer?