bling581

March 22, 2011 at 10:04am

This is becoming more and more common and your average American won't realize what's happening until it's too late. A lot of people including myself are probably thinking there's no way they could let such a deal go down, but look at some of the other mergers that have taken place. Broadband ISP's practically have a monopoly in most areas that I know of. I live in a highly populated area and there are only two choices for broadband; AT&T or Time Warner. Why do you think our country is lacking on average broadband speeds? No incentive to expand. Smaller companies are constantly being bought out by the giants or driven out of business and our government allows it.

Biceps

March 22, 2011 at 9:08am

As a current T-Mobile customer, I object to this merger.  I am sure that as a result of this merger, I am going to get worse service and have to pay higher prices.  I went with T-Mobile specifically because it was clear that AT&T didn't give shit about their customer/victims and that because they carried the iPhone, they thought they could charge whatever they wanted to.  Right now I am paying a very reasonable price for unlimited data, text and more minutes than I could ever possibly use.  There is no good reason we should let these companies merge, and plenty of good reasons (like maintaining some illusion of competition in the already over-merged mobile telecoms market).  Ma Bell was broken up because she was a monopoly, and she has now glommed back together into a form not so different from the 70s and 80s.  Say no to this merger.

r3dd4wg

March 22, 2011 at 6:39am

Well, this changeover is probably going to go over like hell.  It would have been nice if they kept T-Mobile separate but of course, that was a dream.  I was going to drive my G1 "into the ground" but oh well.

"Planned product obsolescence, how the companies keep going into your pockets and reaching for your cash flow."

JoBlo

March 22, 2011 at 5:03am

If this deal gets allowed to happen, it will create a huge step towards a monopoly in the industry. Right now the biggest two GSM cell companies are (in the use) at&t and t-mobile. I will have no other option in my (major metro) area to use my GSM phone with if this deal goes through. I also understand that technology doesn't stand still, and current devices will be out dated, but in less time than the 2 year agreements most of us sign to get a deal on the latest gadgets?

If at&t/t-mobile want to keep their customers, they would facilitate people being able to use their devices through out their full 2 year agreements with out losing any connection limitations per what the device is physically able to do. If this deal goes through, and they really do want what is best for their customers, as well as for themselves, they will facilitate and honor all current service plans and hardware right now today, and slowly over time migrate customers onto a new network structure as people roll in to renew their service agreements, and get the new hardware that runs on the new spec. Any form of forcing people to change out of something that has already been agreed upon is really bad business. I hope the dollar signs don't go to their heads, and think they have us all over a barrel, because they would be sadly mistaken, and actually lose revenue by doing so. When will they all learn that they will make the most money when they lift all this fake limitation nonsense, and sell true unlimited plans that are just that, truly unlimited.

I help build wireless networks, and as a rule, we always over engineer the networks we build to handle at least twice the traffic load we intend them to operate. If you take this theory, and apply it to cell networks, they should all be twice-over engineered, which simply means that the network can should be able to handle at least twice the current network traffic at any given time with the current customer base. That is if they are actually using the ideas explained in every single engineering class, to over engineer your work, so that they more than operate within it's designed spec.

And if you want a heads up on the politics behind all of this, the reason why cell providers constantly come up with new ways to bend over their customers, is because they have to pay the FCC ridiculous licencing fee's to use the radio frequencies that they already had a right to use in the first place, while trying to maintain a positive profit graph for their shareholders, in an economy that just had its legs kicked out from under itself by corrupt bankers, and the government was ok with, but that is another topic. Do some homework on this, it is a huge problem. The only thing the FCC has any legal pull in is when people misuse radio to interfere with police or emergency communication. It seems that anyone who wants to use a "commercial" radio "block", they have to give up their right to use it, then agree to only use the specific "block" that they want to operate in. If you are already allowed to operate on all frequencies, why sign that right away and pay the FCC an idiotic price to allow them to limit your access to a specific range? Doesn't make any sense to me...

It is mind blowing on what people will allow to be taken away.. Then wake up one day to realize it is to late, and wonder what happened, when there is nothing left to take.

DtheRed

March 21, 2011 at 10:48pm

Att&t buyout of Tmobile which I was behind on the news and found out yesterday.

The thought was instantly they'll definitely jack our rate and data services, and not more than 2 seconds later I predicted a well you are gonna buy a new phone.

The two factors that get me is Phones maybe need replaced but they'll make you sign a new contract when you get a new one.
Theyre likely would not been honoring the contract price of tmobile but the NEWS should read We Got you on Pricing Hike for Services and Data use and buy an Iphone.
Nope Android phones better be free!

chinomon

March 21, 2011 at 10:42pm

someone needs to make a petition or something if this get's thru!

solidtran

March 21, 2011 at 10:25pm

i hate att as much as apple... this is not good... i hope the deal gets rejected!

solidtran

March 21, 2011 at 10:25pm

i hate att as much as apple... this is not good... i hope the deal gets rejected!

monkeyboyx

March 21, 2011 at 10:22pm

I'm sure they are going to operate all the bands for a couple years. Once your contract ends after the two years you get a new phone. Same thing happen with ATT and Cingular....I went through that before.

If you have an iphone on tmobile you only have EDGE so 3G ATT should kick in once they switch over they might make you get a new Sim card for your iphone. Thats whay i had to get going from Att to cingular.

bandeezee

March 21, 2011 at 9:21pm

Ok, I'm really concerned.  I just spent quite a few bucks on a Samsung Vibrant with T-Mobile with 3G data.  Now I'm stuck in a 2 year contract and AT&T is going to be taking over?  Does this mean I'm stuck with AT&T?  I love my phone, why would I want to buy a different one?  They better have some kind of option for me to trade in my phone or something.  Doesn't AT&T have a Galaxy S phone?

fellowleo

March 21, 2011 at 7:21pm

What do you think will happen with all the people with jailbroken iPhones on T-Mobile? Think that AT&T are going to stomp on their necks for the audacity of not getting their service via AT&T? I got a feeling AT&T is wringing their hands for a little payback...

F03H4MM3R

March 21, 2011 at 7:17pm

I started with Tmo almost 10yrs ago, and over the years their customer service department has bent over backwards for me if and when I ever had a problem to make sure I was happy. The service has always been good as long as you dont live out in the boonies, and the price has always been great.

I hate Verizon because they price gouge every last cent out of you. Did you know even their own employees only get a small percentage off their phone bill, unlike the other companies that give their employees a free line and heavily discounted family plan. 

Sprint... well, I don't even know where to start. But I fell like it's been said already in the other posts.

And AT&T, good god. Crappy coverage, poor customer service, and one gimic after another when it comes to plans and service. Not to mention, and I know the DSL is seperate from the cell service, the 150GB data cap for customers. They are the pioneers of "how can we make more money buy fucking over our existing customers". Why would anyone ever want a company like that to be their provider.

So thank you AT&T for little black rain cloud that has formed over my head, and now follows me everywhere I go to remind me I now need to find another mobile phone provider.

Maybe I'll try Cricket.

chrisv815

March 21, 2011 at 6:25pm

Really?   How can you report on the cell phone industry and not know how AT&T will handle T mobiles customers?  They will turn around and tell them all,  either pay us for a new phone, sign a new contract  or you get no data.... sorry we are AT&T.   They are the comcast of phones and they could care less for their customers.

alabasterdragon

March 21, 2011 at 5:59pm

Khaotic

"...like a turd in a punch bowl"

Personally I think you are being overly optimistic. More likely to go over like Jane Fonda at a Vietnam Veterans reunion. or Obama at a Tea Party meeting? or Nazi Skin Heads at a Holocaust Museum. or Term limits in Congress? Or perhaps it will go over like a pedophile advocacy group at Disneyland on child abuse prevention day.

I've been with T-Mobile since it was Voicestream (about 12 years) and I've never had one problem that wasn't fixed quickly and easily.

Unfortunately Verizon has just as long of a history of screwing customers. and Sprint has spotty coverage (at best) in my area. Sprint make Cricket look good around here.

I think AT&T is going to bend over every one of T-Moible's customer and not have the courtesy   of a reach around or a tube of KY. We'll all learn what a dild0 the size of Jupiter feels like.

 

bpstone

March 21, 2011 at 5:58pm

$50 dollars for a new phone as a previous T-mobile customer.... 30min later... the final bill comes to $300.00 plus additional fees we use to suck you dry. 

Zenophobe

March 21, 2011 at 5:31pm

I've been with t-mobile since the Prime-Co days.. This is the worst thing possible.. You spend big bucks to get the latest and greatest and to be told... guess what its worthless.

NanoTech

March 21, 2011 at 5:01pm

This makes me very sad. I've been with T-Mobile now for 4 years. I despise AT&T and if I'm forced into buying a new phone I'm not going to bother staying with them after the change over. I'll head right on over to Sprint or even Verizon before I ever consider staying with AT&T.

aarcane

March 21, 2011 at 4:59pm

AT&T will buy T-mo, make an announcement to T-mo customers, and then they'll have to add 2 extra years to their contracts to get any kind of benefit, resulting in people with 3-4 year contracts with AT&T.

CaptainFabulous

March 21, 2011 at 4:56pm

How do you think it'll go? AT&T will fuck them over, telling them they all have to buy a new phone outright, or extend their current contract for an additional two years to get a subsidized phone.

There is simply no incentive for them to give T-Mobile users free phones after the changeover.

Khaotic

March 21, 2011 at 4:06pm

...like a turd in a punch bowl

457R4L

March 21, 2011 at 3:35pm