It's official. AT&T has purchased T-Mobile, USA from its parent company, Deutsche Telekom. For 39 billion dollars, they hope to seal the deal in twelve months, under scrutiny from antitrust enforcement and consumer watchdogs. If successful, this will make AT&T the largest provider in the nation, and solidify the direction mobile technology will take.
One concern is that the customers will bear the brunt of this deal, with the lack of competition sure to drive up prices. Verizon Wireless will hold a strong second, but this is likely a belated death blow for Sprint. With Sprint essentially out of the running, the market will turn to an either/or scenario that could potentially drive up prices. AT&T has some of the priciest plans on the market, and T-Mobile has long beat the competition with rate plans and non-contract options.
Right now, there are a lot of unanswered questions. As this develops, I'll be keeping up on the changes and their impact. This is a big first step of many, and will not just shape the future for cell phone customers, but how data is transferred to all devices. This is the beginning of cementing how we will deliver massive data, and brings up technical questions and other concerns such as security and accountability.
More to come.
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