AT&T very own customers have been suing the company for what appears to be their way of showing how disapproved they are about the T-Mobile take over. They say they are suing to voice that this merger will hurt consumers by squashing the competition.

A New York law firm, Bursor & Fisher, filed a 236 page document requesting arbitration for 11 of its clients, alleging the proposed $39 million merger violates the Clayton Antitrust Act. The firm has also created a website for more people to sign up to get into the action….All at the cost of AT&T…

Attorney Scott Bursor says nearly 50 people and counting are interesting in pursuing arbitration in this legal matter.

“We’ve spent months compiling evidence of how this merger will cause higher prices and worse service,” Bursor said, outlining the case. “We’ve hired experts who are prepared to testify at arbitration hearings across the country. And we are prepared to file hundreds of arbitration cases, any one of which could stop this merger.”

Now you may remember AT&T won a Supreme Court case in April that ruled consumers cannot bring a class-action suit against AT&T, upholding the wireless carrier’s attempt to prevent such suits in its customers contracts. But customers can (and are) still requesting arbitration, according to the courts.

AT&T must still pay for each arbitration dispute a customer files against it, and up to $10,000 if the arbitrator find in favor of the plaintiff. In other words if (and that is a big IF) Bursor & Fisher win their filings, AT&T must make a sizable contribution to all consumers involved in arbitration against it.

So with that my AT&T loving PPCGs, will you too file suit and show your outcry about the merger? This could make things heat up for AT&T and if enough people sign and win maybe make AT&T think twice about the merger and the costs associated with it. Will you sign it – tell us below!

Source: Mobiledia

So I have not wrote about the Sprint and AT&T merger in a couple weeks – but lets be clear – it is still in the heat of all things cell phone. Yesterday Sprint told the FCC that AT&T can expand without buying T-Mobile in a move that I would say is bold at the least. They [Sprint] claim that AT&T could see a 600% increase in network and save themselves a bunch of money because it would cost less to revamp then buy.

“AT&T could increase its network capacity by more than 600 percent by 2015 without subjecting the country to the anti-competitive and anti-consumer harms associated with its proposed takeover of T-Mobile,’ says SVP for Government Affairs Vonya B McCann. “This capacity increase could more than meet AT&T’s projected data service demand growth through and beyond 2015 for a fraction of the cost of its proposed $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile.”

“AT&T has not, and cannot, demonstrate that its proposed takeover of T-Mobile is in the public interest,” insists Sprint

Sprint has been the most vocal of all the carriers in the USA about this merger. Sprint claims that it would stifle innovation, and cause prices to rise as AT&T (and Verizon) play games with each other. Remember that if this goes through that AT&T and Verizon would own about 80% of all customers in the nation. Leaving Sprint in a distant 3rd for the major carriers.

An AT&T spokesman responded by criticizing Sprint’s transfer of its network management to Ericsson (ERICb.ST). “A company that has outsourced the management of its own network shouldn’t be giving advice to others.”

So what do you say PPCGeeks – what do you want Verizon & AT&T&T? Does this even really matter in the bigger picture? Tell us below. I for one say it should not go through, as I see my chocies of carriers drop and my prices rise – I ask myself if cell phones are even worth it at a high price.

source: dslreports and BGR

Many have heard about the ATT and T-Mobile merger and the debate around it. Well it seems all this dispute has brought on new action from the FCC. They are now hitting up the other carriers for their opinions on the deal. Before we get to the details, let’s look at what has already happened briefly.

Sprint Nextel, along with thousands of consumers, had filed requests for the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to block AT&T’s proposed acquisition of rival mobile carrier T-Mobile USA. The $39 billion acquisition would create a “Twin Bell duopoly,” giving AT&T and Verizon Communications a combined 82% of the mobile market in the country, Sprint said Tuesday. Approval of the acquisition would take the U.S. mobile market back to the 1980s, when only two carriers had mobile licenses in each area, Sprint said in its 377-page filing.

The FCC’s spectrum auctions that took place in the 1990s,”gave rise to Sprint, T-Mobile, and other wireless carriers, and ushered in an era of competition and growth that has greatly benefited consumers,” Sprint’s representatives wrote. “Wireless competition has sparked a technological revolution in broadband data services, applications and devices. The proposed transaction would turn back the clock on competition and innovation and bring this era of unprecedented wireless expansion and technological innovation to an abrupt, but avoidable, halt.”

The FCC has received more than 10,000 comments about the proposed merger, with many mobile customers submitting one-page form letters from media reform group Free Press in opposition to the deal. Sprint has opposed the deal since the companies first announced it back in March. The deal would merge the second largest mobile carrier in the U.S. with the fourth largest, creating a new leader.

AT&T has argued that it needs T-Mobile’s spectrum to keep up with growing demand for mobile broadband service. Sprint disputed that argument, saying AT&T already controls the most spectrum of any U.S. mobile carrier. AT&T is the “industry laggard” in deploying next-generation mobile broadband, a Sprint source was quoted saying.

These ongoing arguments have led to The FCC sending out a request to carriers asking them for information to help its investigation into the AT&T and T-Mobile deal. Verizon, Sprint, and regional carriers, such as Cellular South and US Cellular were all asked to provide responses to the proposed deal. Each got the same nine questions regarding coverage, cell site ownership, expansion, relationships with AT&T, their future spectrum plans, billing, and competitive reports. The carriers have been given a June 20th deadline, to get their responses filed.

source
FCC Questionnaire (PDF)

What are your thoughts on the merger?
How do you feel about the fact that the FCC is finally looking into it more?
Let me know your thoughts on all of this below.

I’m sure most of our readers would disagree with this idea, but Dan Hesse seems to think that a merger between Sprint and T-Mobile is still a good idea. He’s gone on record with Financial Times by saying the company is still considering a merger with T-Mobile “down the line”. You may remember last year that Sprint and T-Mobile were in talks of a merger, but T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, feels that T-Mobile is doing fine on their own.

Combining the two companies would put them in a spot to jump into 2nd place, right between Verizon and At&t. We all know how badly merging two incompatible networks can go (i.e. Sprint and Nextel), so its surprising that Sprint is considering making this move again. This move is most likely focused on 4G and building a large enough network to compete with Verizon and At&t. Remember, Sprint is the only major US carrier going with WiMAX, while everyone else is going LTE. A merger might give them the best of both 4G worlds, but integrating their 3G (HSDPA and EVDO) and 2G (Edge and CDMA 1xRTT) would be a nightmare.

We have quite a few Sprint users on our site and a few T-Mobile ones. How would you guys feel if there was a merger in the future? If it happened, would you stick it out, or would you jump to another carrier?

Source: Phandroid (Thanks for the tip boredandtattooed)