Finally a Victory for Consumers

I've been quiet about AT&T since they announced their plans to buyout T-Mobile.  This is mainly due to the fact that I'm tired of having to repeat myself over regarding my hatred towards AT&T.  In case you're a new reader, I fucking HATE AT&T.... Now that that's out of the way...

I'm really surprised of the final outcome, AT&T withdrew their request to the FCC about the buyout after the Department of Justice (DoJ) determined that the buyout was not in the interest of the consumer or the employees of T-mobile.  In addition, it doesn't take a genius to realize if the merger were to go through, their rates would go up.

AT&T had until sometime January 2012 to make a decision if they were going to move forward in court with the DoJ in being able to proceed with the acquisition.  The irony is, internal documentation AT&T had come up with if the plans went through were publicly leaked which basically stated the opposite of their claims.

It was clear that AT&T didn't have any proof that the merger would be in everybody's interest.and that's why rather than proceed with the fight they decided to back out..

So what does this mean now?  Bascially T-Mobile is going to get a HUGE chunk of cash from AT&T (as it was either some sort of law or agreement both companies had), in addition T-Mobile will also get some Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum in 128 markets, this would increase their coverage to about 5 million new households, plus the roaming agreement that T-Mobile has with AT&T will be extended another 7 years.

I'm happy of this outcome and it just proves that at least one person that works for the Government has some common sense.

Sprint now offering customers unlimited mobile calls regardless of what network you may be calling

Yesterday Sprint sent out an email to all their premiere customers (anybody whom pay more then $60 per month) saying tomorrow's announcement is going to be BIG.  Yesterday I was reading around on the PreCentral forums, and the rumors were that Sprint was going be offering exactly what they announced today: Unlimited mobile-to-mobile.  Meaning regardless of whose cell phone you call, your minutes won't be counted against you.

This is a pretty bold move on Sprint's part.  I'd be curious to see how the other cell providers react and if they make any changes on their end to counter this.  It's hard to argue that Sprint's plans suck, as they've always offered the most they can, at the lowest price.  Despite Sprint having the best plans, you can't argue that their coverage is the best.  Verizon definitely takes the trophy in having the best coverage, but that's not really an issue for Sprint customers as we can roam through the Verizon network at no additional cost (depending on what plan you have).

Regardless, the announcement from my carrier comes as good news to me as 99.9% of calls I make are to my friends cell phones.

Thank you Sprint.

Sources:

• Official Sprint page with unlimited mobile-to-mobile


• Precentral: Sprint unveils Any Mobile, Anytime