Last Call

AT&T is still acting like a spoiled brat over the failed T-Mobile merger.  They are still taking shots at the Department of Justice and FCC, and in general bringing about some bad press with their whining and moaning.  The truth is, they were stupid to put up the earnest money for the deal, and their display of (over)confidence backfired in a most ugly way.

So why are they insisting on making it worse?

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson spoke of higher rates and more restrictions on data users.  The FCC did its job, and protected the market.  AT&T got caught being shady a couple of times, and it cost them dearly.  The failure was not the FCC's fault.  And it sure as hell isn't the fault of the customers, who pay for a service and expect to receive what they pay for.  Stephenson pretty much said tough luck to the customers, they are going to foot the bill for the failed deal.  As contracts expire, T-Mobile may come out a winner after all.  When AT&T starts putting the squeeze on aggravated customers, the more affordable T-Mobile will attract many customers.  Sprint will win over the power users who can't bear throttling.

Like many industry dinosaurs, AT&T may be taking themselves a bit too seriously.  With competition ready to snap up customers, they are doing little to improve their service.  In fact, they're pissing people off in large numbers.