Most high school students have their own cell phone and by the time they are out on their own, practically 100% of you will be paying for cell phone service to some provider. Many of you have heard that AT&T is purchasing T-Mobile for $39 billion in cash and stock. T-Mobile has been owned by a German company that will receive a share of AT&T of less than 10% as part of the merger. Currently Verizon ranks #1 in customers, AT&T #2, Sprint #3, and T-Mobile #4. This merger will make AT&T #1 with Spring a distant 3rd. The FCC and the department of Justice will review the sale and probably won't make a decision for 12 months. Read the FAQ regarding what the merger means to customers.
What service, if any, do you currently have?
How do you think AT&T will benefit from the deal?
If the telecommunications industry is an oligopoly(market dominated by a few) already, what will be the effect of reduced competition?
What will be the effect on quality, service, and price in your informed opinion?
Why might the FCC and department of Justice block the sale?
AT&T claims that consumers will benefit from the merge. Are there economies of scale (larger companies result in lower costs than smaller companies) in this industry?
Are you in favor of this merger? Why or why not?
I currently have METRO PCS. couple mouths ago i had AT&T for 2 years. I think AT&T will benefit from the deal because AT&T will be making much more money.If the telecommunications industry is an oligopoly(market dominated by a few) already, the effect of reduced competition will be more, only because more cellphone companies will try to make better deals.The effect on quality, service, and price will be very good so it could be the best out of all cellphones. The FCC and department of Justice block the sale might block it so it can be fair to all cellphone companies. AT&T claims that consumers will benefit from the merge.There economies of scale (larger companies result in lower costs than smaller companies) in this industry.
ReplyDeleteiam in favor of this merger, to make money money.
i have metro pcs. AT&T will be making the telecommunications options less diverse, this is sounding a little like a monopoly to me. reduced competition could mean higher prices for customers.better service costs more, i have metro pcs and my service sucks, but my family plan is only 40 dollars for unlimited talk, text, and web.the FCC might block the sale to prevent a further oligopoly. AT&T is lying through their teeth, the larger the company, the more power they have, and they care for money, not the consumer, they'd charge higher prices. not in favor of this merger, the telecommunications industry is already an oligopoly.
ReplyDeleteamanda eckroth
ReplyDeletesloan 1
What service, if any, do you currently have?right now i have metro pcs
How do you think AT&T will benefit from the deal? I think At&T will benifit by getting more money
If the telecommunications industry is an oligopoly(market dominated by a few) already, what will be the effect of reduced competition?that they will have a shared business and so everyone will get a good amount of money
What will be the effect on quality, service, and price in your informed opinion? The price might by higher becuase thre wont be as much competition
Why might the FCC and department of Justice block the sale? because they want competition and because they want to make sure its the best deal
AT&T claims that consumers will benefit from the merge. Are there economies of scale (larger companies result in lower costs than smaller companies) in this industry? yes becuaause if they buy more supplies then the stuff will become cheaper
Are you in favor of this merger? Why or why not? I think not because then the prices will stay the same and then we wont have to swutch over in companies
i have at&t. i think at&t wil benefit by getting more costumers and money.t hink that at&t will raise there prices because there wont be much competition and they will get alot of moneyb in that way which isnt fair to the costumers.but they might have better service because of the extra money that they recieve. the FCC and department of justice might block the sale because there wont be fair competition. i dont know if im in favor for this merger because i dont really know how this will really affect our service.
ReplyDeleteerika oropeza
mr.sloan
p.4
I currently have Verizon. I think AT&T will make a lot more money from the merger because they will have T-Mobile's customers and services. When their contracts are up, AT&T will probably charge quite a bit more...they're already expensive anyway. Because the telecommunications industry is an oligopoly, there will be a lot less competition after the merger is finalized. Quality, service, and price are probably going to stay the same for AT&T. They're all bad. Maybe they'll raise their prices. The FCC and Department of Justice might block the sale because AT&T is such a huge company already, the merger might make them on their way to becoming a monopoly. I mean there aren't a whole lot of options as it is already. I think they're lying; there's no way this will benefit consumers. I don't think there are economies of scale because people pay more money for better service, so larger companies don't necessarily charge less. I'm not in favor of the merger. It probably won't benefit anything but AT&T's profits.
ReplyDeleteI currently have AT&T, hopefully switching to Verizon in June. I think that the merger will benefit AT&T customers by giving them more coverage in urban areas. Data might move a little faster in these areas but I wouldn't expect a lot better service. I can't say that I think the oligopoly will change much. The reduced competition will just make more people choose AT&T or Verizon, which are already the top two carriers. I think service may go up, prices will definitely go up, and quality will go down. I don't know that I have an opinion either way about this merger, I am indifferent really. It doesn't affect me now so I'm not thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteI have at&t. i think that it will be good for at&t because they will have a lot more money and maybe it will give the customers better service because it will have more cell towers. SLoan per 1
ReplyDeleteI currently have at&t , and the merge will increase service to both at&t customers and also those from t-mobile. The service will be better in urban areas. The prices are likely to increase because there will be less main competitors in the cell phone services, less competition will mean that providers have less reasons to lower prices. Sloan p.3
ReplyDeleteI currently have AT&T. Since the two companies are merging, AT&T will have more customers and will make more money. Since there will be less competition, prices will likely rise. Also, quality and service might not be as good because if there is less competition, there is less of a need to strive for better quality. I am only in favor of this merger if the quality and service do not suffer as a result.
ReplyDeleteI curently have Metro Pcs. I have never had a phone from any other comapny. I think that if AT&T buys T-mobile is good because then they can expand and make a bigger commpany and they will make more money. They FCC and department of Justice may block this because then the prices would increase. I don't care if they combine or not unless it includes Metro Pcs.
ReplyDeleteI currently have at&t right now and i think at&t will beenfit from this deal becasue they will now be ranked number one and most likely will be making more money. This will expand their company which will make them an even bigger competetor to other companys such as sprint and t mobile which are smaller ones.Prices might increase wiht at&t and verison becasue they are now bigger competetors
ReplyDeleteClarisa Carrillo
Per.4
Sloan
Currently, I am with AT&T. As a wireless phone company that is behind verizon in terms of customers, AT&T will benefit from this merger by gaining T-mobile customers. Although T-mobile will be gone from the market, there will still be a lot of competition as long as there are the 3 main providers. The quality, service, and price of AT&T will most likely stay the same or get better depending on what Verizon and Sprint have to offer as all 3 companies look to best the other. They might block this sale because they may see AT&T as becoming too powerful and a natural monopoly in which it is. I am totally in favor of this merger as it does not affect me directly.
ReplyDeleteI currently have sprint. AT&T will benefit from this merge by gaining more customers and expanding their company. Reduced competition will most likely result in higher prices for both the bill and the phones. I believe the quality and service will increase along with the prices. The FCC and department of justice might block the sale to keep the prices from rising more. I am not in favor of the merge because I'm not in favor of higher prices and also because I have sprint, I'm not in favor of Sprint getting less phones or phones of poor quality because AT&T and verizon would be taking over.
ReplyDeleteSloan p.2
Emily Staab Bauer Per 2
ReplyDeleteCurrently I have AT&T. I thinl AT&T will definately benefit from this merger because they will have T-Mobile's customers. But I also think some people will quit using T-Mobile, now AT&T, because they don't like the service. AT&T is becomingt the leading service provider. I think the merger might be blocked because it seems like AT&T are trying to takee over the cellular business.
I currently have AT&T service for my cell phone. I believe that this will do well for the company and improve their sales & stock. With less competition, the merge will allow for more power over the industry. The merge also will allow for better quality and service for AT&T. The FCC may try to block this sale because it may be the start of a monopoly, which is unconstitutional and the FCC primarily looks out to prevent.
ReplyDeleteDevin Smith, Mr. Bauer, P.1.
I have Metro. AT&T are the ones who will benefit from this. As apparent AT&T has more money than T-mobile which is why it was able to buy it. I believe service will be better for the company because it's customers will now be able to use their phones in more places since the company has more signal towers.
ReplyDelete-Ivan Cardenas
Mr. Sloan
Currently i have metro pcs just because the plans are way cheaper. I wanted at&t because the phones were cheaper and the plans were semi-decently priced. This merger will obviously help at&t by bringing in more customers becuase of the better service its providing. Hopefully the FCC will block any future mergers because this will cause at&t to form a monopoly and make us pay a ridiculous amount for a cell phone service
ReplyDeleteJose Alvarez..p4 Sloan
I have AT&T and i beleive AT&T will be making a lot of money due to the telecommunications and more customers. With the two companies merging I beleive AT&T will have the most money.
ReplyDeleteJasmine Singh
Mr.Bauer
P.3
I currently own an AT&T phone. If AT&T chooses to merge with T-mobile, the company would benefit by becomming #1 in the nation. If there are only a few large cell phone companies, then more people who choose to purchase technology from them, while the smaller cell phone companies may have less customers. Depending on the quality, price, and services offered of each company, it is really up to the consumer to ask any questions regaurding their new phone, making sure they are getting the best piece of technology for a good price. I'm not in favor of the merge because there should be different options available to you in terms of cell phones.
ReplyDeleteI currently have Sprint. I think that AT&T will absolutely benefit from this. They will make a lot more money. I agree with others that the prices will probably increase because there will be less competition. I am in favor of this merge if they do not increase the prices of sales.
ReplyDeleteMelissa Quezada
Mr. Bauer
P.2
Currently I own an at&t phone and i absolutely love it! At&t will definitely benefit from this because they will get will not only get t-mobile's customers but they might even get more because of the variety of cell phones and the inexpensive bills. The competition will grow even more than before because T-mobile will be out of the way leaving only 3 big cell phone industries competing. I am in favor of this merge because we really dont need THAT many cell phone companies out on the market.
ReplyDeleteAdilene Vazquez
Sloan Period onee
I currently have at&t and they do a pretty good job but its expensive. I think that at&t buying t mobile will have pros and cons but i think mostly pros. At&t is becomeing a super power in this industry after they buy out t mobile there will only be a few companys left all of which are way smaller and dont provide as good as service which will force the consumer to undoubtly pay higher pricers for the service.
ReplyDeletejake beilby
I have at&t. From the deal, at&t will have more customers and will be able to make even more profits. It will also lead to an improvement in service to the customers. It would be better to have more cell phone companies to choose from because a decrease in companies leaves less choices to the customer.
ReplyDeleteI currently have AT&T, and it seems AT&T will gain more customers and the ability to gain more towers and technologies that would help customers gain better access to the network and internet. With the reduced competition I think prices will go up because T-Mobile was offering the cheapest packages and now AT&T can control the prices to force people to chose AT&T. The FCC could block the sale because they want to keep various types of companies in the market.
ReplyDeleteI currently have metro and i think that at&t buying t-mobile will be good for at&t but not for other companies. At&t will now become a superpower in that industry and will probaly raise the prices due to no other competition. The government will probaly not allow this so that a monopoly doesnt occur.
ReplyDeleteGerardo Salcido
Bauer P.5
I have sprint now I used to have nextel until sprint bought them out. I believe that eventually two companies will pretty much run it all. The mom and pop companies will probably be bought out.
ReplyDeleteSpencer Pellandini
Sloan
P.1
I am "proud" to say that none of said companies are my cellphone provider and my monthly bill total is about zero dollars. Though the service is quite terrible, and I my text is limited, but alas the imaginary phone isn't known for it's quality. The oligopoly of the phone industry doesn't have me worried. Sure our choices are limited and unfortunately, like gas, even if the prices go up we still probably pay for our cell phones. Maybe not every five year old will have one, but I guarantee they will remain forever ingrained in our society. The merger would be blocked only if there was suspicions that cell phone bills would suddenly skyrocket. However, AT&T ensures us that this will not happen and when has only large monopolistic like company lied to the American people.
ReplyDeleteMarklin Nixon
Mr. Sloan Period 1
I actually don't own a cell phone. I am probably the only senior at Galt bight with out a cell phone. I think that at&t will benefit greatly from this merge In the way that they will get a significantly greater amounts of business. If it's already a oligopoly then the Effect of reduced competition will be very helpful for AT&T. I am in favor of this merger because I don't think it is necessary for there to be so many phone companies.
ReplyDeleteSteffanie Eisenga
Sloan
Per.5
Obviously the number of AT&T customers is really high already because i am only the 2nd verizon customer. AT&T will benefit greatly from this deal because all the people that had T-Moble can now get the iPhone 3 for only 49 dollars. Thats pretty cheap i would have to say.but sooner or later there will only be the two big cell phone companies AT&T and Verizon.
ReplyDeleteI have AT&T, but as soon as our contract is up in August my family plans to switch due to the myriad problems we have had with AT&T. This merger will provide better service to AT&T customers due to an increased number of cell towers. However, it will also allow AT&T to up prices due to decreased competition. The FCC may see this merger as the beginning of a monopoly and stop it before it furthers, or they may allow AT&T to buy T-Mobile because there are still other competitors in the telecommunications market, just fewer of them.
ReplyDeleteCurrently i have AT&T. AT&T will benefit from this because they will have T-Mobile's customers,also AT&T is going to be the leading service provider.AT&T has more money than
ReplyDeleteT-MOBILE obviously they have more buisness.i dont think this will be good for other companies.
tania hinojosa
sloan.5
I have AT&T it seems to work alright. It will probably benefit from the buy out of T-Mobile in the form of revenue but the costumers will also benefit in service coverage. The goverment should not regulate this industry, the more it regulates the more into socialism we pludge. Capitalism is what enables the American dream to become reality for some but socialism is slowly killing the dream year by year with each new regulation made.
ReplyDeleteI currently have AT&T since they support Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7. With the purchase of T-Mobile, competition will only increase amongst providers. As a result, this competition will benefit consumers as Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T battle it out.(Sloan P.3/Bauer P.4)
ReplyDeleteMy family just switched from AT&T to Sprint a couple of months ago due to the lack of service... practically everywhere. As long as prices do not go up, i don't really care. The FCC might block it because it will give AT&T an advantage, but on the other hand there are still other phone companies out there.
ReplyDeleteI unfortunately am phoneless at the moment. However, pertaining to the AT&T/T-mobile situation, there future together is already impending. Watch them promise no price increase for lines, but then start removing certain features like unlimited texting mobile to mobile and nights & weekends, as well as increasing fees. I have a feeling that this in the end, will come out badly.
ReplyDeleteAT&T will probably get more coverage area because of the increase in cell phone towers. AT&T will probably become stronger than the other providers in the oligopoly. Price might increase as AT&T might need more workers to support new customers that are coming from T-Mobile. The FCC may block this because it may be the beginning of a monopoly.
ReplyDeleteI currently have metro ghettro pcs.lol.As far as AT&T buying T-Mobile, I think it will benefit them and them only because the people that had T-Mobile will now be part of AT&T and that brings in more money for their business. All of the other companies are now going to have to lower their prices so that more people will join their company. On a positive note, I don't have to worry about any of this because Ghettro is working just fine for me at the moment.lol
ReplyDeleteI crrently have sprint nextel or wutevr. N the only way i'd be affected by this plan is the better phones will cost more.. but I personally can care less because I'm not that into the whole my pones better then yurs kinda thing. It it text calls n can surf the web then its perfectly fine to me.. however with at&t n t-mobile its quite destirbing how at&t wants to take over everything.. I mean they're going to raise prices for tmobile n take away the flexible pay plans.. not everyone likes contracts but at&t sure does.. they wanna trap yu cuz they're money hungry. Its a bad idea n is selfish for them to evn bring up a plan. It'll benifit nobody but at&t n I 1won't be surprised when they loose a lot of the former t-mobile customers
ReplyDeleteI have att and it seems the more and more customers they get the more they are able o advance their network and create new deals on smart phones. i think the merge will be good and advance att to 4G speeds more quickly, but having more people on the network i hope my internet speed or calling isnt crouded out from them having so many users.
ReplyDeleteI use AT&T because I had Cingular when AT&T bought Cingular. I think that when AT&T buys T-mobile, it will increase the quality of the calling service and more areas of phone service will be available to the people. In the short run things will be good, but if AT&T could raise their prices because there is not much competition. They may say things like, "Oh, since we give you great quality and a greater area of service, we charge more." But it all depends on whether or not they remain loyal to their consumers.
ReplyDeleteI use att and it is awesome I get good service. My while family is on a plan with it. We use each others contracts to get better phones. I think there customer service is pretty good you know a business is gonna do what they gotta do to make you stay
ReplyDeleteI think that At&T and customers well benefit if AT%T buys T-Mobile. I believe that there would better better service than before. The effect of reduction in competition well be that service plans well rise. Maybe not dramatically, but it might a little. In my opinion i could careless if these two companies merge or not.
ReplyDeleteI have an at&t phone, and i think that if at&t bought Tmobil it would be more benificial. It would benifit them because the would recive more profit.
ReplyDeletemonica salazar
mr.sloan
p4
Currently i have no cell phone and that doesn't really apply to me. Yet the merge i believe will have a negative effect because now the people have less of a choice. Now the companies can put the price that they want since now there are less companies(only 3 leading companies left). Also it is obvious that AT&T would say that the merge would benefit its customers but taking in mind that they are a company that has very high prices i find it very hard to believe that the merge will be have a good positive outcome.
ReplyDeleteI am in contract with AT&T. I Think that this is another way AT&T is moving forward. AT&T was the only operator under the iphone, but now it can be used by Verizon so they lost the demand for AT&T. I think that AT&T is doing this because they have lost that demand and want to continue to actually have that edge. I tend to like AT&T over all the other brands because they were the first to come out with the I phone and they are very smart and plan all their actions.
ReplyDeleteI also have at&t and I believe that this will probably be the best of every service out there. These two being joined together will produce more money and I think they will have better phones.
ReplyDeleteVictor alvarez
Sloan
I currently have a Metro Pcs phone,I think that AT&T will benefit by purchasing T-mobile because te company is going to receive more money than just having one.
ReplyDeleteI currently have verzion. I think AT&T will benefit from purchasing t mobile because this will double there profit from both companies now. I think At&t was a good company when it had the iphone just for themseleves now since verzion has it tooo the profit is basically shared but more people would want to buy it with verizon because its the number one service.
ReplyDeleteJaskiran Kaur
Mr. Bauer
Government
Period 2
I currently have Verizon however I think AT&T will make a lot more money because they will have a lot more customers and services. When its time to renew their contracts, AT&T will probably charge a little bit more even thou there charges are pretty high already. The Quality, service, and price are probably going to stay the same for AT&T which they can still improve at anytime its up to them.
ReplyDeleteSantiago Naranjo Diaz
P.3
Mr.Sloan
I currently have MetroPCS. I believe that AT&T will benefit with this deal because that is one less competition for them. They can easily take the #1 spot with this purchase. The only reason the FCC and DOJ will block this purchase so there will be an equal competition in the market. I don't really care about this merger because I own a different phone from a different company. I don't think it will affect my phone.
ReplyDeleteMaria Perez
ReplyDeleteSloan Per.4
Right now i own a phone from the AT&T company. I believe that the merger will be a benefit, because AT&T is made of many other companies, which now they can make better products to sell more.
I currently have AT&T service. I think AT&T will benefit from this because the less options people have for a cell phone service, the more likely they will have to choose AT&T as their company.
ReplyDeleteRight now i have AT&T i think that the deal will be a good thing and the only reduced competition would be Metro more, with reduced competition though there will be more of a competition between those left and so more of the buyers may come to benefit from possible future deals. Services and prices could get better for people depending on the way the deal comes out. Because the deal itself is a way to block new developments in different communications. I dont beleive there really is a change in that and honestly i could care less about the merger so long as my phone works and works well. The merger, if it made my phones contracts and costs worse would not be a good thing of course.
ReplyDeleteJoeliane Muegge, Mr. Sloan, Period 5
right now i am a part of AT&T. i think this merger will benefit AT&T greatly. with this, there will be one less company AT&T has to go up against. they will prosper now that they have less competition. the FCC and DOJ will block this only to make sure the competition is equal. i am in favor of this merge only because it will help AT&T out.
ReplyDeleteI currently have AT&T. I believe the merge with t-mobile will be a good choice. It will make the cost of phones and bills go down a little. In the eyes of the other phone companies, they must now push hard to compete by making new products, good phone service, and manageable phone bills. The FCC might block the sale so AT&T does not become to powerful. Since their is an oligopoly in telecomunications, the FCC might want that competiton to be present.
ReplyDeleteI have AT&T, and I think the merger is merely for the satisfaction of AT&T, not the customers. With less competition and ranking #1 in customers they can probably afford to raise prices this way. On the other hand, this may benefit customers if AT&T and T-Mobile take the best of what they both have to offer to make better products at better prices. It's hard to say what will happen, but monopolies and oligopolies usually benefit the companies a lot more than consumers. Bauer/ Sloan
ReplyDeletei have AT&T i think that they shouldnm't be allowed to merge AT&T had already merged with cingular and i think that they will become to big of a company and they will charge more than they already do
ReplyDeleteI have AT&T right now i have had it for eight or nine years now and i think they will be pretty wealthy especially if they plan 0r have already taken over another phone company and they seem popular especially still being in business for this long.
ReplyDeleteAniscia Silva
Sloan
Per 5
I am one of the few who have tmobile, well now AT&T. This sounds like a cell phone monarchy. AT&T wants to rule all! All cells phones will be under the rule of AT&T in 40 years. United we stand with i phone we fall.
ReplyDeleteJordan Elzie per 2 sloan
AT&T is my cell phone provider. this will be good for the company and improve their sales & stock. they wont have as much competition and will have more power. the merge will make service better. the fcc is watching out trying to prevent a monopoly.
ReplyDeleteI currently have verizon. I think this is turning into a monopoly. This could spell out bad news for people because with monopolies come higher prices. And we all know people arent giving up their phones.
ReplyDeleteSamantha White
Sloan per. 5
I currently have an at&t cell phone. This merge is going to help us because it will make the plans and cell phones cheaper for at&t because theirs going to be less competetion. I dont see a problem with at&t merging with T-mobil at all.
ReplyDeleteJonathan Ramos
Per.2
Mr.Bauer
I personally have Verizon's service, and truly believe that att will greatly benefit from this merger, because if stated it will become the number 1 service provider, then that means that more people might want to get that service instead which potentially mean more customers.
ReplyDeleteBrian Leiva
Mr. Sloan
Period 5
i currently have AT&T and i believe that this merger is just a way of the companies trying to make more money i don't believe any of the services provided by either company will change. I think they did it so people could buy the phones the phones both companies carried since they all don't carry the same type of phone this way people think they have more of a selection in the phone service and when purchasing a new phone.
ReplyDeleteEJ Keller
Sloan
Per.4
I have at&t right now and i think at&t will benefit from this deal because they will now be ranked number one and most likely will be making more money. This will expand their company which will make them an even bigger competitor to other company's such as sprint and t mobile which are smaller ones.Prices might increase with at&t and verison because they are now bigger competitors.
ReplyDeleteStephanie A
Mr.Sloan
Per.4