T-Mobile being bought by AT&T

[Corporate ORphan]

Any thoughts from the T-Mobile users about the proposed buy-out by AT&T? Wr are looking for a pay as you go plan (just voice) to replace AT&T and T-Mobile was on our short list.

 

[haha]

Any thoughts from the T-Mobile users about the proposed buy-out by AT&T? Wr are looking for a pay as you go plan (just voice) to replace AT&T and T-Mobile was on our short list.

No clue. I hated AAT, it cost too much and dropped too often. If my plan is continued, and service does not degrade all will be well. If not, at least I have no contract. I suppose I could unlock the phone and move to Straightalk.

Ha

 

[ls99]

There will be a lot of haggling, anti-trust discussions etc.. Figure at least a year before the deal goes through, if ever.

 

[ziggy29]

Less competition, less consumer choice, another excuse to layoff thousands. What's not to like?

I'm probably going to have to ditch my T-Mobile pay as you go plan. It's worked really well for me, but I don't trust AT&T to keep the deal going.

 

[pimpmyretirement]

I'm switching from AT+T to T-mobile pre-paid this weekend. It'll take at least a year for the sale to be sorted, and initially they aren't changing T-mobile.

I figure if I get a year or two out of the switch it will be ok.

I've been on AT+T since 2003, when they were Cingular. I've never had a problem. In prep for my switch, I was even able to get the unlock codes for my phones off their website.

 

[John Galt III]

I have T Mobile "pay as you go", with which I am happy. I've had bad experiences with AT&T in the past, and I fear they will screw up my good thing with T Mobile. Time will tell. Good to hear one previous poster had good things to say about AT&T. Perhaps there is hope.

 

[Sue J]

Saw this posted on Twitter -

AT&T is getting married to T-Mobile. There will be no reception afterwards.

 

[Orchidflower]

I was just this week looking at phones for TMobile so I can use it with the prepaid plans. So disappointing they are joining with AT&T. Now the rates will zoom up. Pooh!

Now who do I use for prepaid calls?

I'm somewhat concerned since I've had TMobile for years, and they really always have worked well for me. Not a happy camper here.

 

[e86s54]

No clue. I hated AAT, it cost too much and dropped too often. If my plan is continued, and service does not degrade all will be well. If not, at least I have no contract. I suppose I could unlock the phone and move to Straightalk.

Ha

AT&T and all wireless carriers are very sensitive to churn (customers coming and leaving) So this is precisely why they are merging. To relieve massive congestion on their network and roll out the 4G LTE network. More Spectrum is required for both. This is the stated goal by AT&T.

E86S54

 

[Telly]

AT&T to buy T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom - Business - U.S. business - msnbc.com

from the article:

"T-Mobile has relatively cheap service plans compared with AT&T, particularly when comparing the kind that don't come with a two-year contract. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said one of the goals of the acquisition would be to move T-Mobile customers to smart phones, which have higher monthly fees. AT&T "will look hard" at keeping T-Mobile's no-contract plans, he said."

If the merger eventually goes through, which it will, I expect AT&T to offer us T-Mobile pre-pays a "fantastic" deal just like they offered us previous AT&T folks back when they turned down their TDMA network. They didn't give a rat's arse if we jumped ship or not. I was paying $24.95/mo, and their "special rate" for existing AT&T customers who had to migrate over was the same as their regular rate, which IIRC was $59.95/mo. then. I bailed out.

I'm happy with T-Mobile pre-pay, I have a phone I like that is reliable, and coverage is good. So all good things will come to an end...

 

[RetiredGypsy]

So what's the alternative to T-Mobile now? Virgin?

 

[Gotadimple]

I'm am so bummed about this. I moved from AT&T to T-Mobile 4 years ago, and never looked back. The good news is that it will take a year for any merger and it will need to be approved by the FCC. The bad news is that it will need to be approved by the FCC.

Editorial in this morning's Seattle Times encouraging the FCC to vote no for threereasons: Moving from many carriers to a few carriers, losing a carrier that offers lower rates than any one else, and loss of jobs in the Seattle area as a result of the merger.

We'll see.

-- Rita

 

[Gotadimple]

So what's the alternative to T-Mobile now? Virgin?

That depends on where you live -- Virgin's coverage isn't always the best everywhere. I have been looking around and I just can't find a carrier that lets you load up a pre-pay amount and use it for an unlimited amount of time (until the money is gone).

Plenty of carriers with a daily rate on the days that you use it. I guess I'm going to have to figure out if a daily rate is equivelent to the $50-60 I spend per year.

-- Rita

 

[REWahoo]

If you are an AT&T or TMobile customer this merger will likely be a lose-lose situation. If approved, the quality of service will likely be the pits during the merger process and no doubt rates will begin to increase.

Maybe Nords is right...

 

[Nords]

Maybe Nords is right...

I'm probably biased by my personal choices. Every time I've had the need to carry a cell phone I've generally been miserable, and the cell phone just makes me that much more reachable by people who aren't necessarily going to ease the misery.

Oddly enough, that also seems to describe the merger!

 

[Texas Proud]

So what's the alternative to T-Mobile now? Virgin?

I would not go with Virgin..... and I am a customer...


Got Virgin for my wife... who likes to travel to state parks... the coverage is ZERO outside of any the major cities or highways... so it was worthless to her...


We got Tracfone and it works great... cost about $100 per year, but I think you can get it cheaper (we have only had it for a few months, so have not had to look yet for the new minutes)...

I am thinking about cutting off Virgin and losing the $50 I have prepaid...

 

[John Galt III]

The fact that so many people hate AT&T and don't want them to screw up T-Mobile makes me think that "free enterprise" and "competition" would prevent such a customer-unfriendly thing from happening. I suppose we need to hope that the antitrust laws prevent it.

 

[rescueme]

DW/me have had T-Mobile for many years and are quite satisfied with their service, especially since they are on the GSM network and use them quite often while we travel.

While we don't use the phone for anything other than voice and have one of the old grandfathered plans ($19.95/mo) I'm sure we will lose that "cheap" service if the takeover is completed.

I know that we could get by with prepaid, but to us it's a hassle if we're traveling outside the US and need to purchase airtime.

With the advent of smart phones, but more importantly their anticipated use in everyday transactions - such as on-line coupon scans, we started to look at alternative plans. On top of our list (thus far) is Virgin Mobile with smart phone rates as low as $25/mo.

I'm sure other providers will have "special offers" to try to get those that currently have T-Mobile so we'll just wait the year to see what's available.

 

[grumpy]

I own AT&T and Verizon stocks - both for the nice dividends. My cell phone is Verizon so the deal shouldn't affect my service. I hope it goes through.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

I've been using Net10 prepaid phones for a couple years now. They have been the cheapest for my needs, and before that I was using T-Mobile prepaid for about 4 years. I also use Google Voice, and give this out to people as my #. That way I can forward the calls wherever I am located, which might mean my computer if I am out of the country.

With Net 10, the carrier used depends on how you purchase the phone. I have it set up to use AT&T as their coverage is best where I live and travel.

 

[haha]

So what's the alternative to T-Mobile now? Virgin?

And the WalMart entry Straight Talk. It can be quite cheap for unlimited service- as in to serve as your only phone. I think $45/mo, or $540/yr. Phones are cheap and there is no contract. You can also get 1000 minutes/mo for $30. I believe TracPhone is the underlying brand, with other limited usage plans available.

http://www.straighttalk.com/ServicePlans

Ha

 

[MichaelB]

That Wal-Mart Straight Talk plan looks good - certainly competitive vs Verizon contract. I was not aware no-contract options had improved so much. Mr. Ha, thanks for the tip.

Consumer Reports says network service levels for for both Consumer Cellular and TracFone are slightly better than T-Mobile.

 

[ERD50]

... I've had bad experiences with AT&T in the past, and I fear they will screw up my good thing with T Mobile. Time will tell. Good to hear one previous poster had good things to say about AT&T. Perhaps there is hope.

Don't get too optimistic - they said they "didn't have problems", that's different from "good things to say". When I did have some small problems with ATT, I was flabergasted at how amazingly incompetent their customer srevice was. I swore that my call must have been intercepted by Verizon, and they had actors trying to make a laughably bad customer experience as a scam on ATT customers. After about 20 transfers, each time needing to restate all my info and the whole story, the 21st CR told me they had no record that I was an ATT customer!

The fact that so many people hate AT&T and don't want them to screw up T-Mobile makes me think that "free enterprise" and "competition" would prevent such a customer-unfriendly thing from happening. I suppose we need to hope that the antitrust laws prevent it.

We can hope. I've read that ATT has a strong union, so there may be some politics at play here. Let's hope not. Can we hope for no change? Yes, we can.

DW/me have had T-Mobile for many years and are quite satisfied with their service, especially since they are on the GSM network and use them quite often while we travel.

....

I know that we could get by with prepaid, but to us it's a hassle if we're traveling outside the US and need to purchase airtime.

What's the hassle? Just make sure your phone is unlocked, and buy a local SIM card over seas, right?

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

31AUG2011 Update

AT&T to fight Justice Dept. attempt to block T-Mobile merger - The Washington Post

Hopefully, this isn't just posturing before an approval. IMO, AT&T needs competition. If it were up to me, I'd turn this around and force AT&T to sell off some of their infrastructure to T-mobile at an attractive price, in order to spur more competition.

If that sounds like it is against my general 'keep government out of the way' stance, it is, but in this case there is not enough competition to be a true free market. I think some govt action could help level the field, restore a degree of 'freeness' to the market and that would be good for consumers.

-ERD50

 

[ziggy29]

Hopefully, this isn't just posturing before an approval. IMO, AT&T needs competition. If it were up to me, I'd turn this around and force AT&T to sell off some of their infrastructure to T-mobile at an attractive price, in order to spur more competition.

If that sounds like it is against my general 'keep government out of the way' stance, it is, but in this case there is not enough competition to be a true free market. I think some govt action could help level the field, restore a degree of 'freeness' to the market and that would be good for consumers.

I think it's important to remember that a free market can really only be "free" if we don't have behemoths in the space who can crush or buy all their competition. It sounds a little paradoxical, but sometimes you have to put limits on what large corporations can do if you want to make sure viable competition can exist. It's not really a good economic policy when the "big boys" can regularly eliminate competition (and jobs) by buying their competition.

And it's not just that it's anti-consumer when this happens. My first thought when I heard the merger proposal was the thousands of layoffs that would occur as "redundancies" were eliminated.