AT&T handles rejection well. Its marriage with T-Mobile failed, but it's back on the acquisition hunt, this time targeting Cricket Communications' parent Leap Wireless. This one stands a better chance than AT&T-Mo.…
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Report: Genachowski resigning as FCC chairman Friday
The Democratic chairman is stepping down, according to the Wall Street Journal, just as a Republican commissioner is departing, preserving an administration-friendly majority on the commission.…
Read MoreA GigaOM conversation with Sprint’s Dan Hesse on five harrowing years as CEO
A world of difference separates the Sprint Dan Hesse took over on Dec. 17, 2007 and Sprint today. On his fifth anniversary as CEO, Hesse talks with GigaOM about how Sprint emerged from its dark days and how AT&T-Mo eventually helped shape Sprint's identity.…
Read MoreSmall and medium-sized carriers join forces to combat AT&T and Verizon
The Rural Cellular Association is now the Competitive Carriers Association. The name change acknowledges the new reality that not all nationwide mobile carriers are created equal -- T-Mobile and Sprint have more in common with tiny regional operators than with the country's two wireless superpowers.…
Read MorePost AT&T tryst, T-Mobile’s decline continues
After showing signs of shaking the AT&T merger specter, T-Mobile is shedding customers again, posting a 205,000 subscriber loss in the second quarter. T-Mobile has shrunk by about 400,000 subscribers in the last year while all of its competitors have grown.…
Read MoreT-Mobile pounds the first nail in 2G’s coffin
T-Mobile isn’t just launching a sizable LTE network in 2013, it’s becoming the Grim Reaper for 2G technology as we know it. T-Mobile has unveiled a plan to radically reshape its networks, shutting down the majority of its GSM capacity to focus almost entirely on 4G.…
Read MorePost AT&T-Mo, T-Mobile finds a way to get to LTE
T-Mobile USA may have had a horrible fourth quarter while its merger with AT&T suffered its death throes, but the operator is definitely taking advantage of the aftermath. T-Mobile is using the breakup fee and spectrum won from AT&T to build an LTE network in 2013.…
Read MoreAT&T & Dish fight over spectrum, but will either build a network?
Report after report points to AT&T marrying Dish Network after Ma Bell’s forced break up with T-Mobile, but given the companies’ increasing belligerence, you wouldn’t think that was the case. What we’re witnessing here is some very cynical pre-nuptial gamesmanship.…
Read MoreAT&T punishes its customers for T-Mo merger’s failure
Wondering why AT&T smartphone data rates just went up? Because the operator was denied its acquisition of T-Mobile – at least that’s what AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson implied Thursday. Ma Bell is still bitter about AT&T-Mo's failure and it's taking it out on its customers.…
Read MoreWas the battle over AT&T-Mo a fight worth having?
The AT&T-Mo saga wasted countless dollars and resources, dominating the attention of regulators and the wireless industry for a year, but AT&T's failure more than made up for those losses. We now have more fearsome regulation and a greater awareness of the mobile market's precarious competitive state.…
Read MoreA bird’s-eye view of T-Mobile’s new spectrum trove
After its failed merger with AT&T, T-Mobile's break-up fee included some choice 4G spectrum it will use to bulk up its HSPA+ network. In a map submitted by a GigaOM reader, you can see exactly where T-Mobile gains new airwaves and how much.…
Read MoreMeet the spectrum bosses
If AT&T-Mo’s failure taught us anything it’s that big U.S. operators can no longer grow by acquiring each other. Instead they’re going to have to buy up what unused spectrum is left on the market to stockpile fuel for their future mobile broadband networks.…
Read MoreT-Mobile’s consolation prize: No LTE but lots of airwaves
Deutsche Telekom has revealed the details of its breakup fee now that the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile is officially dead. T-Mobile gets: one check for $3 billion, one nationwide roaming agreement, and 128 individual spectrum licenses -- everything it needs to build a better HSPA+ network.…
Read MoreMerger aftermath: Everywhere AT&T loses, Verizon wins
Verizon Wireless couldn’t have asked for a better outcome to the AT&T-Mo saga. Not only did its archival take a beating but Verizon managed to lock down its spectrum position while AT&T was distracted. But most importantly to Verizon, AT&T backed off before it went over the brink.…
Read MoreDOJ to AT&T: No FCC petition, no merger
The Justice Department has sent a clear signal to AT&T that it doesn’t like its tactics as the operator tries to buy T-Mobile. The DOJ is seeking a halt all court proceedings until AT&T resubmits its FCC merger application, potentially putting the deal in limbo.…
Read MoreEven without AT&T-Mo, we still have no competition
With AT&T's proposed deal to purchase T-Mobile now effectively dead, consumers have won, right? Yes and no. There's much cause for consumer rejoicing, but the U.S. is still pro-carrier because we can't easily use our phones on different networks. We really don't have true carrier competition.…
Read MoreFCC lets AT&T off the hook, but still releases damning merger report
The FCC has accepted AT&T's request to withdraw its T-Mobile merger petition, allowing it to resubmit its application if it can overcome the DOJ's antitrust lawsuit. But the FCC didn't let AT&T get off without releasing its report condemning the merger for all to see.…
Read MoreWho wins and who loses if AT&T-Mo fails?
AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile seems all but dead. If the deal falls through mobile operators stand to gain or lose depending on which of side of the battle lines the stand. The biggest losers, however, aren't necessarily AT&T and T-Mobile.…
Read MoreWhy Verizon needs AT&T-Mo to just disappear
Verizon dodged a bullet on Tuesday when the FCC denounced AT&T-Mo. No conditional approval means no new regulations to haunt Verizon's own consolidation plans in the future. Now Verizon needs its archival AT&T to throw in the towel before it can do any more damage.…
Read MoreAT&T-Mo fails FCC test but has one more shot
The FCC condemned AT&T-Mo in every way it could think of short of denying the actual merger. Instead it passed it along to an administrative law judge, where telecom deals go to die. But first AT&T has to face down the DOJ.…
Read MoreDoes AT&T need more spectrum? It’s complicated
Sprint is calling foul on AT&T's attempt to sell off mobile broadband licenses while simultaneously arguing the need to acquire T-Mobile's spectrum. Sprint's been plenty right in its criticisms of the AT&T-Mo deal in the past, but this time Sprint's wrong.…
Read MoreAT&T to DOJ: T-Mo is full of fail, but we can make it a win!
AT&T filed its response to the DOJ lawsuit that attempts to stop Ma Bell's acquisition of T-Mobile, and the response can be summed up as: T-Mobile is a loser, but if we can take it over, it's a win for customers who will get better service.…
Read MoreAT&T discloses too much in merger filing
AT&T, on Thursday somehow managed to file a document relating to its T-Mobile acquisition that wasn’t redacted, which noted that it would have to spend $3.8 billion to cover rural areas with its planned LTE network.…
Read MoreThe going gets tough for AT&T’s T-Mo plans
The Federal Communications Commission said it would combine the review of AT&T’s purchase of spectrum from Qualcomm with the agency’s review of Ma Bell’s $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile. Is the FCC worried about consolidating so much spectrum into the hands of one company?…
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