AT&T Chief Says T-Mobile Deal Will Improve Service

Posted Mar 30, 2011 at 3:18PM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: News Tags: apple, ios

Ó

0
Since the news came out that AT&T would acquire rival T-Mobile to form the country’s largest mobile carrier, competitors as well as consumer groups have expressed their misgivings about the pending deal. AT&T’s chief executive Randall Stephenson defended the deal today, pointing out its projected benefits. “This transaction is very instrumental. Virtually on the day you close the deal, getting a 30 percent lift in capacity in New York City: that’s a significant improvement in call quality and data throughput.” Since NYC is one of several big cities where AT&T iPhone customers have complained of dropped calls and poor service, this would be a welcome benefit—if it happens. Stephenson also rejected claims that the deal would cause reduced competition leading to higher rates. “This is an intensely competitive industry. It is intense before we do this transaction, it will be intense after we do this transaction.” Yeah, that’s really reassuring. I think he means, “We’d still have to compete with Verizon and Sprint.” Meanwhile, Sprint is attempting to have the deal blocked, claiming the transaction is anticompetitive and would produce an industry dominated by only two carriers.

In the long run, it’s up to AT&T whether this plan results in a more competitive carrier that delivers service superior to that offered by Verizon. Since the release of the Verizon iPhone last month, AT&T subscribers have switched in droves, almost always because of the carrier’s abysmal record of service. If AT&T can use this acquisition to give users better service, especially in metropolitan areas where iPhone signals have been historically spotty, then this merger could be a good thing for mobile customers. If the carrier does little or nothing about service and just uses the deal as an excuse to raise rates, Verizon will be picking up a lot more subscribers over the next year.

Tweet

This story sucks? This story rocks!

Vote Now!    (0) (0)

Become a Member of QJ.Net! If you want your comments to go live without waiting for moderation, you need to be logged in. Being logged in has its benefits: Logged in members do not wait for their comments to be approved. Logged in members can sign up for nightly updates. Logged in members can create Profiles to be seen by other users. So why wait? Create an account or login now! It's easy, quick, and free. To get started, use the LOGIN boxes, or the REGISTER link at the top right!

Add comment

Name (required)

Title

Refresh

Send

Cancel

JComments