Why does AT&T need to gobble up T-Mobile? It’s all about dropped calls on the iPhone and the sick amount of data the iPad is slurping up, AT&T argues in their latest filing with the FCC.
Here’s the relevant quote from the filing, which justifies AT&T’s plans to acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion.
A smartphone generates 24 times the mobile data traffic of a conventional wireless phone, and the explosively popular iPad and similar tablet devices can generate traffic comparable to or even greater than a smartphone. AT&T’s mobile data volumes surged by a staggering 8,000% from 2007 to 2010, and as a result, AT&T faces network capacity constraints more severe than those of any other wireless provider.
According to AT&T, this $39 billion would be better spent buying T-Mobile then expanding their own network themselves. The results for users will include a “reduced number of dropped and blocked calls, increasing data speeds, improving in-building coverage, and dramatically expanding deployment of next-generation mobile technology.”
There’s a lot of reasons to be skeptical of these arguments, given the shameful unwillingness AT&T has shown in upgrading its network to cope with demand, even as they claimed exclusivity over the most popular smartphone on Earth.
What do you think? Do you trust AT&T’s reasons for the acquisition? Let us know in the comments.
[via 9to5Mac]
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
22 responses to “AT&T: 8000% Mobile Data Growth Because Of iPhone and iPad Is Why We’re Buying T-Mobile”
Who cares what the “real” reasons are? Think about it, if it cuts dropped calls and increases data speed and quality; I can’t imagine that being a bad thing…
Has nothing to do with service. If AT&T cared they would put their money into the existing network. It’s all about the subscribers. They simply want to boast that they have the most wireless subscribers.
Their logic has as many holes as their spotty coverage.
Why does the world love to hate AT&T? They’ve invested $18B in their network last year alone… So to say they aren’t investing is uneducated rant. This is a good thing for consumers as another poster said … Fewer dropped calls and faster data. Isn’t that what everyone wants?
Why does the world love to hate AT&T? They’ve invested $18B in their network last year alone… So to say they aren’t investing is uneducated rant. This is a good thing for consumers as another poster said … Fewer dropped calls and faster data. Isn’t that what everyone wants?
the only reason people don’t like it is because they think it would be an enemy to competition. I don’t agree, and I think Sprint and Verizon can provide competition, but that’s their argument against AT&T buying T-Mo
I love how everyone loves to rag on AT&T, saying that they don’t bother to invest in the network and all that. They’ve added at least 14 towers in my area alone to increase their coverage, and it was already pretty good. and as far as dropped calls, that happens on every network, not just AT&T. everyone else in my family has Verizon and they drop calls so regularly that they don’t even bother trying to make calls in parts of town
For those of you defending AT&T and their great coverage and network offerings please tell us why they are consistently ranked last or second to last in call quality, customer service AND highest in dropped calls. The 18B they claim to have spent is all smoke and mirrors. They can try to spin it and you can lap up the vomit they spew, but the polls , independent studies and market research paint an entirely different picture.
I speak from experience; I work for AT&T, have had an iPhone since launch and now carry a Verizon iPhone. I also do a lot traveling for the company and am not the only one that carries a Verizon phone due to their reliability…
Ma Bell has not changed in the 50 years I have dealt with them. They are the same arrogant self serving bunch they have always been. They have always “known” what is good for the proletariat and forced fed us phone equipment that was ‘good enough’ for us. Now they are getting back to what they were before the Break-up of the Bell system. To bad for us.
As many others, I switched our 4 iPhones to T-Mobile dues to OVER PRICED plans, CONSISTENT dropped calls, POOR customer service reps & MAINLY the ability to use our iPhones WITHOUT a DATA PLAN…
I have an iPad with unlimited Data for $29.99 & we ONLY use WIFI on our iPhone at home so why pay the extra $120 MONTHLY for data?
I believe the switch will improve AT&T POOR structure but they WILL BILL ME for data when I don’t need or WANT it!
Very interesting, especially with T-Mobile and Orange seemingly pissing in the same pot within the UK.
I have T-mobile. My data Speeds are between 4mbp-10mbp. AT&T ain’t touching that. Why would my speed suddenly increase? It will get slower. I don’t want to pay more for slower speed, and horrible customer service. Look at AT&T’s phone line-up, terrible.