merger

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Amazon launches Amazon Cloud Drive, a digital music locker to store and access your music

Sprint hopes to block the AT&T/T-Mobile merger

Kindle users with subscriptions to The New York Times will not have to pay additional fees to access the paper behind its new paywall

Facebook is going to release five more movies to rent on the site

Netflix gets permission to stream Paramount movies and shows in Canada

News Corp. may be planning to transfer control of MySpace to Vevo

AT&T and T-Mobile stole the news spotlight early in the week by announcing their proposed megamerger just as the wireless world was readying to converge on Florida for the annual CTIA trade show.

AT&T and T-Mobile, respectively the No. 2 and No. 4 U.S. wireless carriers, announced on Sunday a $39 billion merger deal that would create a company with nearly 130 million subscribers, easily leapfrogging Verizon Wireless for the No. 1 spot.

Winning regulatory approval, however, may be tricky. The Federal Communications Commission warned in a report last May that the wireless industry was … Read more

The reason some T-Mobile USA customers are with T-Mobile is because they hate AT&T.

But sometime next year, those T-Mobile customers could become AT&T customers. On Sunday, AT&T surprised just about everyone when it announced plans to buy T-Mobile for $39 billion. The merger still has to be approved by regulators, so it's not a done deal. But the announcement has sent many T-Mobile customers into a tailspin, as they try to figure out how to avoid becoming AT&T customers.

In this week's Ask Maggie column, I explain what it … Read more

Since AT&T announced its $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA, wireless consumers have been asking: What does it mean for me?

In a nutshell, consumers will have fewer choices when it comes to wireless service. But current AT&T and T-Mobile customers may experience improved service quality.

To provide more in depth answers to some common questions from consumers, CNET has put together this FAQ. T-Mobile and AT&T have also put together FAQs and other material to help explain to customers the issues surrounding the merger.

Will my cell phone bill go up if this … Read more

Things have just gotten a lot more complicated for No. 3 U.S. wireless operator Sprint Nextel, which has slowly been rebuilding its damaged brand and stemming heavy customer losses.

On Sunday, the No. 2 U.S. wireless operator, AT&T, announced plans to buy No. 4 wireless operator T-Mobile USA in a deal valued at $39 billion. If the acquisition is approved by regulators, it could spell big trouble for Sprint. The carrier, which has been a distant third place to Verizon Wireless and AT&T, will be even further behind in terms of customers.

At the … Read more

It will take up to a year before we know for sure whether or not AT&T will be allowed to acquire T-Mobile. But people are already starting to speculate about what this means for consumers, particularly the ones currently on T-Mobile's service.

To put together our related story for CBS News, we wanted to hear what everyday cell phone users in San Francisco had to say. So Jared, our cameraman and editor, and I headed downtown to the corner of Market and Third streets. It was a very convenient destination since the T-Mobile and AT&T … Read more

Just when CTIA 2011 was shaping up to be a snoozer, it suddenly got a lot more interesting today when AT&T announced that it was acquiring T-Mobile for $39 billion. A rumored acquisition of T-Mobile has long been percolating for a few months--up until today Sprint was listed as the likely buyer--but the news of AT&T swooping nonetheless is shocking. And as I see it, it's not very good for T-Mobile customers.

Absolutely, AT&T and T-Mobile are a natural fit on the surface. They both are GSM, they have broad international coverage, and … Read more

AT&T and T-Mobile rocked the United States this morning with merger plans that would make T-Mobile USA part of AT&T's empire. (That's assuming the buyout receives regulatory approval; until then, it's business as usual at T-Mobile for now.)

Both T-Mobile and AT&T have a claim to fame in recent smartphone history. AT&T was first to get the Apple iPhone, in an exclusive two-year deal no less, but it was T-Mobile that first got the Android ball rolling with the T-Mobile G1.

CNET will have much more news and analysis … Read more

From a network and technology perspective, the $39 billion marriage between AT&T and T-Mobile USA is a no-brainer, but the companies may have to do some smooth talking to get the deal approved by regulators.

AT&T and T-Mobile USA, which is owned by German phone company Deutsche Telekom, each use the GSM technology and each company plans to deploy the 4G technology known as LTE in the future. AT&T plans to launch its LTE network this summer, and T-Mobile has said in the past that LTE is on its roadmap.

Currently, each company has … Read more