mergers

Things have just gotten a lot more complicated for No. 3 U.S. wireless operator Sprint Nextel, which has slowly been rebuilding its damaged brand and stemming heavy customer losses.

On Sunday, the No. 2 U.S. wireless operator, AT&T, announced plans to buy No. 4 wireless operator T-Mobile USA in a deal valued at $39 billion. If the acquisition is approved by regulators, it could spell big trouble for Sprint. The carrier, which has been a distant third place to Verizon Wireless and AT&T, will be even further behind in terms of customers.

At the … Read more

It will take up to a year before we know for sure whether or not AT&T will be allowed to acquire T-Mobile. But people are already starting to speculate about what this means for consumers, particularly the ones currently on T-Mobile's service.

To put together our related story for CBS News, we wanted to hear what everyday cell phone users in San Francisco had to say. So Jared, our cameraman and editor, and I headed downtown to the corner of Market and Third streets. It was a very convenient destination since the T-Mobile and AT&T … Read more

Just when CTIA 2011 was shaping up to be a snoozer, it suddenly got a lot more interesting today when AT&T announced that it was acquiring T-Mobile for $39 billion. A rumored acquisition of T-Mobile has long been percolating for a few months--up until today Sprint was listed as the likely buyer--but the news of AT&T swooping nonetheless is shocking. And as I see it, it's not very good for T-Mobile customers.

Absolutely, AT&T and T-Mobile are a natural fit on the surface. They both are GSM, they have broad international coverage, and … Read more

AT&T and T-Mobile rocked the United States this morning with merger plans that would make T-Mobile USA part of AT&T's empire. (That's assuming the buyout receives regulatory approval; until then, it's business as usual at T-Mobile for now.)

Both T-Mobile and AT&T have a claim to fame in recent smartphone history. AT&T was first to get the Apple iPhone, in an exclusive two-year deal no less, but it was T-Mobile that first got the Android ball rolling with the T-Mobile G1.

CNET will have much more news and analysis … Read more

From a network and technology perspective, the $39 billion marriage between AT&T and T-Mobile USA is a no-brainer, but the companies may have to do some smooth talking to get the deal approved by regulators.

AT&T and T-Mobile USA, which is owned by German phone company Deutsche Telekom, each use the GSM technology and each company plans to deploy the 4G technology known as LTE in the future. AT&T plans to launch its LTE network this summer, and T-Mobile has said in the past that LTE is on its roadmap.

Currently, each company has … Read more

In a blockbuster mobile deal, AT&T announced today it had agreed to acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion.

The acquisition would make AT&T the dominant wireless player in the U.S. with the addition of more than 33 million subscribers to its 95.5 million customer user base, giving it a new total of more than 129 million subscribers. The merger would push AT&T past Verizon Wireless, which would become the U.S. second largest wireless carrier with a little more than 102 million subscribers.

"This transaction represents a major … Read more

On Call runs every two weeks, alternating between answering reader questions and discussing hot topics in the cell phone world.

Bloomberg today revived a long-simmering story in the wireless world when it reported that Deutsche Telekom is considering selling its T-Mobile USA subsidiary to Sprint Nextel. A deal is nowhere near definite, sources told Bloomberg, but the two companies are debating a valuation for the country's fourth-largest carrier.

More merger mania Mergers between wireless carriers do happen--remember that Sprint and Nextel got hitched almost six years ago--and the possibility of a T-Mobile/Sprint marriage has been bounced around since 2009. … Read more

It's official. Comcast has completed its acquisition of NBC Universal.

On Saturday, the cable giant announced that the transaction is complete. Comcast now owns 51 percent of NBC Universal. General Electric still owns 49 percent of the media conglomerate. The new company, which will be called NBC Universal, is valued at $37 billion.

The deal was originally announced in December 2009. The Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Department of Justice gave the final blessings for the deal earlier this month. Regulators imposed several conditions on the deal to ensure that Comcast would not stifle competition, especially when it … Read more

Comcast and NBC Universal have jumped the last regulatory hurdle before making their multibillion-dollar marriage a reality, but what does it all mean to average consumers?

Earlier this week the companies, which are planning to form a joint venture that Comcast will control, got approval from both the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice. The companies are expected to finalize the deal by the end of January.

The combination of the cable giant and media conglomerate has some watchdog groups and opponents of big mergers, such as FCC commissioner Michael Copps, wary. They are concerned that … Read more