Signal Strength

AT&T's chances of completing its $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA are quickly fading as regulatory opposition to the deal mounts and the wireless giant's efforts to keep the deal on track smell of desperation.

The merger, announced in March, has been in trouble since this summer when the U.S. Department of Justice sued AT&T to block the deal. But things got uglier last week when the Federal Communications Commission said it would try to block the deal. Even though AT&T has vowed to fight on, it looks like the company … Read more

AT&T is apparently readying a Hail Mary pass to save its foundering $39 billion bid for T-Mobile. Trouble is, there's every reason to think it won't be enough.

According to Bloomberg, the telecom giant is preparing to offer a deal to the Department of Justice under which AT&T would divest as much as 40 percent of T-Mobile's assets as part of the acquisition. It's not at all clear which parts of T-Mobile AT&T might consider shedding as part of this plan.

The Justice Department filed suit to block the deal … Read more

It's Black Friday, the busiest day of the shopping year, and Ask Maggie is here to help you with questions about holiday shopping.

In this edition, I offer some advice to one mother considering substituting an Amazon Kindle Fire for an iPad as gift for her son. And I suggest a game console for a gaming newbie, who wants to get the whole family up and moving this Christmas.

Ask Maggie is an advice column that answers readers' wireless and broadband questions. The column now appears twice a week on CNET offering readers a double dosage of Ask Maggie'… Read more

Following FCC chairman Julius Genachowski's official show of opposition to AT&T's proposed buyout of T-Mobile, AT&T said last night that it will take a $4 billion accounting charge in the fourth quarter to cover a breakup fee to T-Mobile should the deal fail to gain regulatory approval.

AT&T and T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telecom also said they've withdrawn their pending approval applications to the FCC "to facilitate the consideration of all options at the FCC and to focus [the companies'] continuing efforts on obtaining antitrust clearance for the transaction from the … Read more

AT&T's chances of closing its $39 billion deal to buy T-Mobile USA are looking pretty slim as the FCC chairman officially expresses opposition to the deal. But how long will AT&T fight to keep the merger alive?

On Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski began circulating a draft order recommending to the other four FCC commissioners that the agency refer the case to an administrative law judge.

While details of the chairman's report assessing the merger have not been made public, officials told reporters on a conference call that in 99 out the … Read more

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission doesn't believe that AT&T's proposed $39 billion deal to acquire T-Mobile USA is in the public interest. And he's asking the other four commissioners to approve an administrative hearing, in which AT&T would have to prove otherwise.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Tuesday that Chairman Julius Genachowski was considering such action.

The move by the chairman would put yet another hurdle in the way of the merger, which is already being challenged by the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ has filed a … Read more

It will be a white Christmas for T-Mobile USA subscribers looking to buy the Samsung Galaxy S II.

On Tuesday, the carrier announced that it will soon offer the smartphone in a second color: white. It started selling the black version of the slick smartphone in October. T-Mobile said it will offer more details about where and when the white Galaxy S II will be offered in the "coming weeks." But T-Mobile promised it will be available in time for the holidays.

The Galaxy S II is one of T-Mobile's top smartphones. The device runs on Android … Read more

Amazon and Barnes & Noble have made e-readers and now tablets so inexpensive that almost anyone can get them, even poor students. But are these tablets up to the task of replacing those big, heavy college textbooks?

In this edition of Ask Maggie, I try to answer that question. I help one mother who is considering getting either the Amazon Kindle Fire or the Nook Tablet for her college-student daughter so she can download digital textbooks. But it's still early days for e-textbooks. And I caution her to do some homework before she buys either of these tablets.

Also … Read more

Rumors of a "Facebook phone" are back in the news with a story from the technology Web site AllThingsD, which reports that the social-networking company is working with a cell phone manufacturer to build it.

The rumor of a Facebook phone, or a smartphone with deeply integrated Facebook social-networking tools in it, first emerged a little more than a year ago. Back then, CNET had confirmed the social network had reached out to hardware manufacturers and carriers seeking input on a Facebook-branded phone. But rumors faded as devices with Facebook buttons were announced this year. Now it looks … Read more