Pending approval from the FCC, AT&T will become the largest wireless carrier in the U.S. with the acquisition of T-Mobile. At present, AT&T is the second-largest wireless carrier and T-Mobile is the fourth-largest carrier.
After doing some reading about the potential benefits as well as the possible pitfalls, here are some prevailing facts and opinions I’ve encountered.
How Will The Merger Affect You?
That depends on who you are.
If you are living in a rural area with limited cell phone service, AT&T plus T-Mobile might equal better reception.
Those in favor of the merger state that AT&T is going to get serious about expanding infrastructure to rural areas if AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile goes through. In a press release, AT&T talked about,  “a significant expansion of robust 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) deployment to 95 percent of the U.S. population to reach an additional 46.5 million Americans beyond current plans – including rural communities and small towns,” adding that, “This helps achieve the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and President Obama’s goals to connect “every part of America to the digital age.â€
Critics claim, however, that the company is making empty promises to get the merger approved and that there is truly no real plan in place.
Should you happen to be a current T-Mobile customer you may be facing increased rates due to lack of competition between carriers.
According to Gigaom, “The biggest losers of this deal are going to be the consumers. While AT&T and T-Mobile are going to try to spin it as a good deal to combine wireless spectrum assets, the fact is, T-Mobile USA is now out of the market.” The article goes on to state that as a smaller company T-Mobile often offered cheaper voice and data plans in order to remain competitive. With the proposed merger, the playing field will be reduced to AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. The result could mean less need to for competing, lower rates.
What do you think about the AT&T/T-Mobile merger?