AT&T announced today that the company would end its bid to acquire T-Mobile USA.
The actions by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice to block this transaction do not change the realities of the U.S. wireless industry. It is one of the most fiercely competitive industries in the world, with a mounting need for more spectrum that has not diminished and must be addressed immediately. The AT&T and T-Mobile USA combination would have offered an interim solution to this spectrum shortage. In the absence of such steps, customers will be harmed and needed investment will be stifled.
The acquisition intention was announced back in March, 2011. Under the original terms of the deal, AT&T would have paid $39 billion in cash and stock. The deal, however, was heavily criticized in an analysis by Federal regulators who believed that the merger would limit competition in virtually every U.S. city and lead to higher prices for customers.
AT&T now owes T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom $3 billion in cash plus $1 billion in spectrum (at market rates) as a breakup fee for the failure of the merger. However, the Wall Street Journal reports that AT&T's bottom line will not feel the full brunt of the cost because it should be fully tax deductible, meaning the cash hit of the breakup fee would be closer to $1.5-$1.8 billion.
Wednesday May 21, 2025 8:21 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Google recently made waves by showcasing a set of lightweight smart glasses featuring deep Gemini integration and an optional in-lens display. The demo has reignited interest in Apple's own smart glasses project, which has been the subject of rumors for nearly a decade. Here's a recap of where things stand.
Current Development Status
Apple is actively working on new chips specifically...
Apple is planning to launch a set of smart glasses by the end of 2026, reports Bloomberg. The glasses will be comparable to the Meta Ray-Bans and the Android XR glasses that Google showed off earlier this week.
Apple's smart glasses are expected to include cameras, microphones, and AI capabilities, much like the Meta Ray-Bans. The glasses will be able to take photos, record video, provide...
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature.
According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
Wednesday May 21, 2025 10:27 am PDT by Juli Clover
OpenAI is acquiring io, the hardware-based AI startup co-created by Jony Ive, OpenAI announced today. Ive has been working with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on io for two years, and the duo expects to develop a family of AI devices.
In a video shared by OpenAI, Altman and Ive outlined their partnership and what they expect to create as a result of the merger. "I have a growing sense that everything ...
The big news in the technology world this week is that ChatGPT maker OpenAI is working more closely with Apple's former design chief Jony Ive on a futuristic AI device. The company is remaining tight lipped about the device, but Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has shared some alleged details about its design.
In a social media post today, Kuo said the device will be "slightly larger" ...
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple's annual developer and software-oriented event, is less than three weeks away. We haven't heard a great deal about macOS 16 ahead of its announcement this year, so we could be in for some major surprises when June 9 rolls around. Here's what we know so far about the next major update to Apple's Mac operating system.
macOS 16 Name?
Every year ...
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube.
During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...
I wonder how much further along AT&T would be in their LTE rollout if they just took the $39 billion and invested it in wireless infrastructure versus trying to buy T-Mobile.
T-Mobile merged with Orange in the UK and that reduced competition and they made their stores much nicer. Why was everyone in the USA against this? :confused:
Why would reducing competition be a good thing? It's what helps keep prices down.
How is reducing competition a good thing? You'd be ok with paying more just to have nicer stores?
T-Mobile is going under. They're bleeding customers in droves. Their exit from the U.S. market is only prolonged a little longer with the AT&T back-out money.
T-Mobile merged with Orange in the UK and that reduced competition and they made their stores much nicer. Why was everyone in the USA against this? :confused:
I guess because in the USA we don't consider "reduced competition" a good thing! ;)