Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: AT& T will purchase T Mobile

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Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 03-20-2011, 10:16 PM:

The Honolulu Star Advertiser reported AT&T will buy T Mobile for 39 billion dollars and I am not sure if this is something that will benefit me. I have been with T Mobile since 2002 and I have been very pleased with their reliable service. I have only heard nothing but negative things about AT&T and wonder if this merger will result in poor service when AT&T takes over. This only good thing about AT&T taking over T Mobile is the opportunity I will have to switch to a iPhone when it is time to replace my Samsung Vibrant smart phone with a new phone.

-Claude

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-20-2011, 11:23 PM:

Good. We need less competition. More monopolies, please.

Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 03-21-2011, 08:00 PM:

I bought an iPhone through AT&T in November 2009, expecting the worst. I expected poor voice and data coverage in fringe areas, and if I ever had to call them for support, heaven help me.

However, the reality is that my experiences with AT&T customer support have been very good. Compared to Verizon Wireless (where I was coming from), AT&T's people are downright wonderful to deal with.

The voice and data coverage hasn't been as bad as I feared it might be, but it's not as good as I would like it to be. As long as I'm in a major metropolitan area or along a freeway, I'm good. But when you get into areas that AT&T classifies as anything "moderate" or below, you're not going to have reliable service.

The T-Mobile purchase supposedly is going to help AT&T build out their network capabilities faster than it would have taken them 5-10 years to do themselves. Those impacted by AT&T's troubles in San Francisco and New York are supposed to be the primary benefactors of this deal. If true, that's a win for everyone involved. If it's true...

Ideally, I would love to have an iPhone that would use US Cellular's network. They have great voice coverage, their phone support is incredible, but I do not have any first-hand experience with their data coverage. If AT&T ever gets annoying, I'll be looking at Android-powered phones from US Cellular, for certain.

Posted by Bruce Hansen (Member # 281) on 03-22-2011, 07:40 PM:

If you are with T-Mobile (as I am), LOOK OUT. AT&T is already saying that a lot of T-Mobile coustomers will need to replace their phones. That is going to cost you, and you will then be under contract with AT&T, so when they raise your rates, there is nothing you can do about it. I'm glad that I am not under contract with T-Mobile right now. If AT&T tries to pull something (and let's face it, what I wrote above says that they are already doing just that), I can just walk way.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-22-2011, 08:09 PM:

I doubt being under contract would force you to buy the new phone. The contract is for the purchase of the old one. Them no longer supporting the phone that you bought under contract would be a case of them not holding their part of the agreement.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 03-22-2011, 09:19 PM:

Relax. They'll give you a new phone for free just to keep you. Louis

Posted by Cody Martin (Member # 2523) on 03-22-2011, 09:41 PM:

And if you are really attached to your phone, you can always carrier unlock it. Sometimes you can find instructions online for free, other times you'll pay 10-20 dollars through an online service so you can switch the sim cards. Yes, I realize that you should have to do this, but it's an option.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-23-2011, 12:29 AM:

Looks like you'll need to get your phone replaced if you use T-Mobile's 3G or 4G networks. If you are not signed up for any of that, you should be fine.

The transition from Cingular to AT&T was pretty smooth. I was with Cingular at the time. One day I turned on my phone and it said "AT&T" at the top instead of "Cingular". That's really the only difference I ever noticed. But now AT&T is just being weird. I barely use text messaging and I don't use phone internet AT ALL. About every other day, I get a spam e-mail from AT&T telling me that, based on my usage, I would save lots of $$$ by signing up for the unlimited data and text plan. Yay! Oh wait...

Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 03-23-2011, 01:32 AM:

Scott:

I'm probably among the minority here but I bought my phone about six years ago TO MAKE AND RECEIVE PHONE CALLS. I'm not interested in playing games on the thing, typing, watching TV, taking pictures or fiddling with any other toys they have available for them (and my phone does all that). I have had Verizon since the beginning and have never been in an area in the Pacific Northwest or the Midwest where there was no service. In fact, last year I was in Diamond Lake, Oregon, a very rural area, and my son-in-law had to use my phone because he could not get service on his AT&T phone. Now AT&T is saying they cover 97% of the population. A quick glance at their coverage map shows that it is mostly in densely populated areas. The Verizon reps have been very helpful through the years.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-23-2011, 08:43 AM:

quote: Joe Redifer
Looks like you'll need to get your phone replaced if you use T-Mobile's 3G or 4G networks. If you are not signed up for any of that, you should be fine.

Looks like this is wrong, considering that almost all 3G/4G phones from tmobile support the 1900 MHz spectrum, which would make them compatible with ATT.

quote:
I've heard that AT&T will have to move T-Mobile customers off this AWS spectrum, and that this means that the T-Mobile smartphone I use today for HSPA+ service will no longer work. Is this true?
It's not clear yet how AT&T would use the T-Mobile AWS spectrum for its own services. But it's unlikely that customers will notice a disruption, and there's only a slim chance that customers will have to get new phones.
First, keep in mind that AT&T uses its 850MHz and 1900MHz spectrum bands for its 3G service and its 4G HSPA+ service. T-Mobile uses 1900MHz for its 2.5G services, and it uses AWS for its 3G and 4G HSPA+ services. This is why a jail-broken AT&T iPhone 3G, 3GS or 4 doesn't work on T-Mobile's 3G network. It doesn't support the AWS spectrum bands.
But even though the 3G version of the iPhone from AT&T do not support AWS spectrum bands, most of T-Mobile's 3G/4G smartphones support at least the 1900MHz band and most support other spectrum bands as well for international roaming.

So even if AT&T completely clears T-Mobile's AWS spectrum for exclusive LTE use, most T-Mobile 3G/4G devices can simply be moved over to another spectrum band and they should still work fine.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20046112-266.html#ixzz1HQhhXo2a

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 03-23-2011, 04:05 PM:

T-Mobile's phones support 1900 for 2G service, but NOT for 3G or (what is falsely advertised as) 4G. If you have a T-Mobile phone currently and roam on AT&T, your data while roaming is limited to EDGE (a 2G technology).

When most US carriers added 3G, they licensed new spectrum to carry it on, thus the new bands. AT&T didn't...they piggybacked it on their 850 and 1900 bands. Thus their pipeline is restricted, thus the problems people have had with dropped calls and what not. Getting T-Mobile's 3G spectrum is a huge part of this deal.

With the T-Mobile spectrum, AT&T can do 3G/fake 4G properly. (Meaning existing AT&T customers might need new phones, but T-Mobile customers should be fine.)

In any case, it's going to be a year or more before the FTC approves this...assuming they approve it at all...and in the meantime, they'll operate as separate companies.