In a move that surprised tech pundits, business insiders and the press, AT&T announced that they have purchased all of T-Mobile USA for almost $40 billion.
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Deutsche Telekom AG (FWB: DTE) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which AT&T will acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom in a cash-and-stock transaction currently valued at approximately $39 billion. The agreement has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies. […]
With this transaction, AT&T commits to a significant expansion of robust 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) deployment to 95 percent of the U.S. population to reach an additional 46.5 million Americans beyond current plans – including rural communities and small towns. This helps achieve the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and President Obama’s goals to connect “every part of America to the digital age.†T-Mobile USA does not have a clear path to delivering LTE. (via Mobilize Everything by AT&T).
AT&T will face an uphill battle getting this deal approved by the feds as acquiring T-Mobile will make the company the sole GSM carrier in the US (not to mention make it even harder to resurrect net neutrality).
Although a majority of T-Mobile customers have expressed outrage regarding the deal upon Facebook, there are at least a few reasons why they may end up loving their AT&T overlords (at least in the near future). [Read more…]
Originally posted on March 21, 2011 @ 1:28 pm