AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion

AT&T and Deutsche Telekom AG announced that AT&T would be acquiring T-Mobile USA in a cash and stock transaction worth $39 billion.

"This transaction represents a major commitment to strengthen and expand critical infrastructure for our nations future," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T Chairman and CEO. "It will improve network quality, and it will bring advanced LTE capabilities to more than 294 million people. Mobile broadband networks drive economic opportunity everywhere, and they enable the expanding high-tech ecosystem that includes device makers, cloud and content providers, app developers, customers, and more. During the past few years, America's high-tech industry has delivered innovation at unprecedented speed, and this combination will accelerate its continued growth."

The transaction is said to improve network quality and will expand the reach of LTE to more than 294 million people.

AT&T and T-Mobile customers should see service improvements with improved voice quality due to increased cell tower density and broader network infrastructure. At closing, AT&T will immediately gain cell sites that would otherwise have taken five years to build.

The move will obviously curtail the need for a T-Mobile iPhone which has been rumored from time to time. The iPhone is presently offered on AT&T and Verizon only in the U.S. Existing AT&T and T-Mobile customers will presumably see a consolidation in service and coverage as the deal takes place.