AT&T’s dead T-Mobile takeover: from beginning to end – The Verge

FCC approves T-Mobile and AT&T spectrum transfer

2012-04-25T12:24:55-04:00

T-Mobile UK

The FCC has finally approved the spectrum transfer that was part of a $4 billion breakup fee that AT&T promised to T-Mobile if the companies failed to merge. Following AT&T's decision to call off the acquisition in December of last year, the two companies applied in Janurary to the FCC to get the green light for the spectrum transfer. The spectrum, which is estimated to be worth $1 billion, is in the AWS band and it covers 128 cellular market areas. Be sure to check this map to see where AT&T is losing some of its spectrum. While T-Mobile currently relies upon its AWS spectrum for its 3G network, it plans to use the additional capacity gaine …

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T-Mobile reportedly pursuing tower sale for up to $3 billion

2012-03-29T21:32:02-04:00

T-mobile store logo (1020)

T-Mobile is apparently looking to do whatever it can in order to raise enough money to continue on as an independent entity. In addition to massive job cuts, Bloomberg reports that the company intends to sell a large number of cell towers, as many as $3 billion worth, as quickly as possible. The move will bring in more cash on top of the $4 billion in cash and spectrum it received in the wake of AT&T's failed takeover. T-Mobile told All Things D that it was evaluating a "tower sale as part of its self-funding strategy," but didn't confirm any details.

The overall strategy is apparently to make T-Mobile "self-funded," which is to say able to …

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AT&T rubs salt in T-Mobile’s wound after layoff announcement, slams FCC

2012-03-23T13:32:32-04:00

AT&T officers

AT&T has shown an enormous amount of swagger throughout the entire story arc of its merger attempt with T-Mobile USA, much of which has come directly from the mouth and pen of Jim Cicconi, AT&T's EVP of external and legislative affairs (pictured above, far right); it got to the point during the merger proceedings, in fact, that the FCC said it was "deeply concerned."

But today's comments by Cicconi on AT&T's Public Policy Blog regarding T-Mobile's announced layoffs border on the bizarre, saying that "normally, we'd not comment on something like this" but that "AT&T promised to preserve these very same call centers and jobs if our merger was …

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T-Mobile USA details LTE ‘challenger strategy’: $4b investment, but more spectrum still needed

2012-02-23T08:33:06-05:00

T-mobile store logo (1020)

Having announced earlier that it intends to launch LTE service next year, T-Mobile USA is now going into a little more detail on how it plans to make that happen. In a press release talking about its "challenger strategy," the company says that it'll invest some $4 billion into network upgrades - $1.4 billion of which will happen in the next two years - to achieve LTE service in the "vast majority" of the top 50 markets by 2014, with a faster 20MHz-thick slice of LTE operational in three-quarters of the top 25 markets.

It's long been known that T-Mobile is starved the amount of spectrum required for a proper nationwide LTE deployment, though, …

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AT&T posts $6.7b loss despite record-setting smartphone sales in Q4 2011: 7.6m iPhones sold, Android sales growing

2012-01-26T08:36:32-05:00

AT&T overshadows T-Mobile (fixed)

AT&T just released its Q4 2011 financial results, and the failed T-Mobile buyout combined with other charges means the carrier lost some $6.7b for the quarter - the carrier had to pay T-Mobile that $4b breakup fee, plus hand over $1b in spectrum after the FCC and DOJ combined to kill the proposed merger. AT&T also had to account for modified pension accounting, which made up the rest of the loss.

Ignoring that mess, things are going pretty well: AT&T added 717,000 subscribers and sold a record 9.4m total smartphones, of which 7.6m were iPhones - and the majority of those were iPhone 4S units. That's 20 percent of all the iPhones Apple sold …

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T-Mobile’s new spectrum: a map of what AT&T is giving up

2012-01-24T23:03:15-05:00

T-Mobile Spectrum gains

While we all wait for the FCC to approve the spectrum transfer that's a result of AT&T's failed bid to purchase T-Mobile, GigaOM has posted a map created by reader Andrew Shepherd of exactly where that spectrum will be. AT&T dropped large blocks in California, Arizona, and the Seattle area, Shepherd found, but also understandably made sure to keep enough spectrum in key areas to ensure its LTE network wouldn't be significantly hurt. If you're a T-Mobile customer in one of the highlighted areas, you should hopefully see improved service in the not-too-distant future. It all adds up to $1 billion worth of spectrum, which is in addition to $3 b …

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AT&T and T-Mobile apply to FCC for approval of $1 billion spectrum transfer

2012-01-23T16:26:27-05:00

T-Mobile UK

According to The Wall Street Journal, AT&T and T-Mobile have entered an application to the FCC to approve the transfer of $1 billion worth of AWS spectrum to the number-four US wireless carrier. The transfer should tie up the remaining loose ends following AT&T's bid to purchase T-Mobile, which was called off in mid-December. In addition to the spectrum, AT&T agreed to give up $3 billion in cash and a seven-year 3G roaming agreement as part of the break-up fee. While we're sure T-Mobile is happy with the extra $4 billion, the company has said that "there's no Plan B. We're back at the starting point."

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Deutsche Telekom on failure of AT&T / T-Mobile deal: ‘There’s no Plan B’

2011-12-20T19:28:31-05:00

Deutsche Telekom headquarters

Though it's got to be pleased about the $4 billion parting gift it's getting - $3 billion in cash and another roughly $1 billion in AWS spectrum - Deutsche Telekom appears to have been caught a bit flat-footed in the wake of AT&T's failed bid to acquire T-Mobile USA. Speaking to reporters today, DT chief René Obermann notes that "we have a better chance of expanding the network in many markets" thanks to the some 128 markets of AWS licenses that T-Mobile is receiving (plus a seven-year 3G roaming deal on AT&T's network), but that it's not sufficient to move to LTE - and it doesn't have a plan in place to make LTE happen in the absence of add …

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T-Mobile to get seven-year 3G roaming deal, 128 markets of AWS spectrum from AT&T

2011-12-20T10:04:38-05:00

Deutsche Telekom headquarters

Deutsche Telekom now is detailing the consolation prize it's getting from AT&T in the aftermath of its failed acquisition of T-Mobile - and in looking through the details, calling it a "consolation prize" really doesn't do it justice. The German telecommunications giant will be receiving a cash payment of $3 billion, which we now know will be going directly toward paying off DT's debt - it seems that T-Mobile USA itself won't see a dime of it - but the carrier will be taking delivery of licenses for some 128 market areas of AWS spectrum, including 12 of the top 20 markets. That's a pretty big deal, and will probably force AT&T to rely more h …

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AT&T kills T-Mobile merger plans, will pay Deutsche Telekom $4b breakup fee

2011-12-19T16:39:25-05:00

att

AT&T has officially announced this afternoon that it has dropped its plans to merge with competitor T-Mobile. The news comes on the heels of rumors earlier today that the deal had all but fallen apart. The company will now pay a total of $4 billion to Deutsche Telekom as a breakup fee - $3 billion in cash plus about a billion in spectrum - and the two carriers will agree to a roaming deal which will allow devices for each network to work on the other (we've already heard some evidence of interoperability on the 1900MHz band). As expected, AT&T is citing recent FCC and DOJ resistance which called the proposed $39b takeover of T-Mobile into qu …

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