merger

Next week, CEOs from some of the nation's largest wireless companies will be testifying on Capitol Hill for and against the proposed $39 billion megamerger between AT&T and T-Mobile USA.

On Wednesday, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson and T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm will argue in favor of the merger in front of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing titled "The AT&T/T-Mobile Merger: Is Humpty Dumpty Being Put Back Together Again?"

Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse and regional carrier Cellular South CEO Hu Mena will be there to testify against the merger. … Read more

The U.S. Justice Department is asking for more information as it takes a deep dive into its investigation of AT&T's proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA, Bloomberg reported today.

According to two unnamed sources familiar with the situation, Bloomberg said that the Justice Department's antitrust division also sent "civil investigative demands," which are like subpoenas, to competitors of the two companies. The Justice Department is seeking more information on how the deal will affect other wireless businesses, Bloomberg reported.

Neither AT&T nor T-Mobile would comment on the story. And the … Read more

AT&T is pinning its future on getting its hands on more wireless spectrum. But should regulators allow AT&T, which owns more wireless spectrum than any other wireless operator across the nation, to gobble up even more of this scarce resource?

That's the big question that the Federal Communications Commission is grappling with as it scrutinizes the planned merger between AT&T and T-Mobile, which will transfer all of T-Mobile's spectrum to AT&T. The FCC is also in the middle of considering AT&T's plan to buy spectrum in the lower part of the 700MHz band of spectrum from Qualcomm.… Read more

As we told you last week, AT&T has formally kicked off its $39 billion bid for T-Mobile by filing the official merger paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission. We don't have access to the full materials, but AT&T posted a 381-page redacted executive summary (PDF) for public consumption.

To save you the bedtime reading--actually, it would take most of the night--we took the weekend to peruse the somewhat rambling, and occasionally amusing document. When it's not pounding home the argument that the merger is the only way to alleviate the spectrum constraints facing both … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said earlier today that the proposed merger between T-Mobile and AT&T will create a duopoly in wireless that will slow innovation and move America backward.

"Competition will be stifled, growth will be stifled and wireless innovation will be jeopardized," he said while speaking at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. "We just can't let this happen."

Though Hesse largely focused on Sprint's green initiatives and the formal unveiling of the eco-friendly Samsung Replenish during his speech, he also took several shots at the deal that would create … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission has formally started the process for reviewing the proposed $39 billion merger between AT&T and T-Mobile USA that was announced last month.

The FCC has posted its public notice that establishes procedural rules for the review process and will allow the public to weigh in on the proposed merger. AT&T and T-Mobile will file their formal applications by the end of the month as the FCC considers transferring wireless licenses.

The agency is still not discussing specifics of the review process, but earlier today it held a press conference in which it … Read more

It's been almost a month since AT&T dropped the $39 billion bomb that it was intending to acquire T-Mobile. And since that time, the wireless world had talked about little else. Indeed, the news of the potential merger dominated the CTIA show last month, and my CNET colleagues and I have fielded many reader questions over the marriage.

Your concerns about a merger are understandable. If approved by the feds, the deal would not only lump 130 million subscribers under one provider, but also it would result in just one GSM national carrier. Higher prices, customer service changes, and degraded coverage are top of mind for many consumers, but divestiture is another consequence to consider. We'll get into the details below, but the short story is that the combined carrier may have to stop service to your area. And if that happens, you can wind up with a different provider that you didn't choose. It's nothing to panic over, but it is something to keep in mind. So for more on divestiture and what it could mean to you, read on.… Read more

Texas Instruments plans to purchase fellow analog chipmaker National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion, the companies announced today.

TI is paying cash for National Semi. Stockholders will get $25 per share, an $11 per share premium over the $14.07 National Semi shares closed at today. Both boards have already approved the deal. There is a "break-up fee" of $200 million.

TI says the companies' sales force together will be "10 times larger" after the acquisition. Combined, the two could capture a 17 to 18 percent market share, company executives said on a conference call this … Read more

The $39 billion proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA won't close for at least a year, but some T-Mobile customers are worried about what the potential changes might mean for them.

In this week's Ask Maggie column, I clear up confusion around whether T-Mobile USA customers will be forced to upgrade their handsets after AT&T completes its acquisition. I also offer my prediction on whether new LTE smartphones that will be introduced later this year will have similar battery life issues to the HTC Thunderbolt. And I offer some advice to new iPad2 … Read more