The shareholder vote was the last step in a long chain of approvals necessary to cement the deal. On May 1 — just seven months after the companies announced their intentions — T-Mobile and MetroPCS will officially combine. Read more »
AT&T is buying up the remaining piece of Alltel still in operation for $780 million. Though the deal gives AT&T 585,000 new subscribers, judging by the price Ma Bell seems more interested in its airwaves. Read more »
There’s a common assumption that the Cloud’s destiny is to be a public utility. Mark Thiele, of data center operator Switch, argues that would kill competition and innovation, and that IT can be a better option. Read more »
By buying NextWave, AT&T removes the biggest obstacle to its plan to convert the Wireless Communications Services band from a worthless patch of airwaves to highly valuable 4G spectrum. The deal will cost AT&T $600 million but would pay dividends in new LTE capacity. Read more »
T-Mobile USA is consolidating its customer service call centers, shutting down seven facilities in six states by the end of June but hiring new staff in its remaining 17 call hubs. The reorganization will result in T-Mobile’s workforce shrinking by 1900 staff, or 5 percent. Read more »
Even with a new cash infusion from Sprint, Clearwire’s LTE plans remain conservative. Given their combined spectrum resources, the two operators could build the biggest, baddest 4G network in the industry. The question is do they have the ambition — and the cash — to do it? Read more »
There has been a lot of talk about consolidation lately because federal agencies have until Oct. 7 to present their plans for slashing data center footprints by 38 percent by 2015. But how exactly the government will pull this off is still up for debate. Read more »
