AT&T Buying T-Mobile

AT&T Buying T-Mobile

AT&T and T-Mobile took the tech world by complete surprise over the weekend with the announcement that AT&T plans to purchase its smaller rival for $39 billion. The acquisition will make AT&T the biggest wireless provider in the United States, and the only provider with a GSM-based network. But, there is a lot that needs to happen before T-Mobile will be officially swallowed up by AT&T.

AT&T just announced a deal to buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom in a cash and stock deal worth $39 billion.

The deal would make AT&T the nation’s largest wireless carrier by a wide margin, so it will probably face significant government scrutiny, and AT&T could have to make some big concessions.

Or the deal could be blocked completely — last year was the first year that the FCC did not conclude the U.S. wireless industry was “competitive.” The companies expect the deal to close in “approximately 12 months” — a long time.

AT&T Buying T-Mobile

First, AT&T is going to have to get the blessing of agencies like the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Federal Communications Commission (FCC). There are obvious concerns of antitrust and inappropriate influence over the market when one company the size of AT&T controls so much of the wireless landscape, and offers the only GSM-based network choice.

Some customers and consumer advocacy groups are less than thrilled about the prospects of merging AT&T and T-Mobile. Andrew Jay Schwartzman, Senior Vice President and Policy Director of Media Access Project, claims, “If approved, this deal would further increase costs and decrease choices for the public,” adding, “The possibility that three players would control nearly three-quarters of [the wireless] market will surely trigger intense scrutiny by [US regulatory] agencies.”

AT&T Buying T-Mobile