AT&T expands wireless coverage with Dobson buy
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(InfoWorld) - The iPhone won't be just for customers living in the big cities. On the day it is introducing the hugely hyped cell phone, AT&T announced it will acquire wireless provider Dobson Communications for $2.8 billion in cash. Dobson, which markets its service under the Cellular One brand, provides cellular services mainly to rural and suburban areas. Its network covers 17 states and has the potential to serve 13 million people. Along with the network, AT&T will get Dobson's 1.7 million customers. The companies say their networks overlap only minimally. The two carriers have had a relationship since 1990, when Dobson began offering roaming services to AT&T. The boards of both companies have approved the deal, and Dobson's majority stockholder has also approved it. AT&T said the deal will help it realize significant annual savings in reduced roaming expenses. The deal is subject to regulatory approval. Because there is little network overlap, AT&T expects to obtain approval by the end of this year. AT&T is only just digesting its acquisition of Cingular Wireless, one of the biggest operators in the nation. Adding Dobson's customers to its ranks of subscribers, AT&T will have 63.9 million subscribers.
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Federal regulators approved the $41 billion purchase of AT&amp;T Wireless by Cingular Wireless, a crucial step in a merger that will create the nation&#39;s largest cellphone company.
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Cingular Wireless LLC&#39;s $41 billion buyout of rival AT&amp;T Wireless Services Inc., approved Tuesday by the Federal Communications Commission, is expected to give customers
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Change is coming for AT&T Wireless's 21.7 million customers -- although they wouldn't know it from watching the company's commercials or shopping in its stores. The cell phone provider is expected to complete its $41 billion merger with Cingular Wireless within weeks.  -The Washington Post
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The coffeehouse operator will offer AT&T wireless service at 7,000 U.S. locations.
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Cingular Wireless, the nation&#39;s largest mobile-telephone operator, said that it would sell some airwave rights and customers to the Alltel Corporation for $170 million to satisfy government conditions on its purchase of AT&amp;T Wireless Services.
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The Department of Justice (DoJ) today announced that it would approve Cingular&#39;s $41 billion dollar acquisition of AT&amp;T Wireless (Quote, Chart), provided the mobile carrier sells assets, such as spectrum and customer contracts, in 11 states.
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Cingular Wireless today announced it has completed its previously announced merger with AT&amp;T Wireless, creating the nation&#39;s biggest wireless carrier with the
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Cingular Wireless will leverage the additional spectrum it gained through the acquisition of AT&amp;T Wireless to deploy a third-generation wireless data network based on the global UMTS standard.
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The merger between AT&amp;T Wireless and Cingular Wireless will become more visible today as the Atlanta-based carrier rolls out a holiday ad campaign and transforms AT&amp;T Wireless retail stores to the Cingular brand.
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The Federal Communications Commission gave its approval Tuesday to Cingular Wireless LLC's &#36;41 billion acquisition of AT&amp;T Wireless Services Inc., completing the federal regulatory blessing necessary for creation of the country's largest cellphone company.
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AT&T announced today that its U-verse fiber-to-the-node Internet service will begin offering more bandwidth and higher speeds to top-tier subscribers, and free Wi-Fi hotspot connectivity to all of AT&T's broadband customers.
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Top U.S. phone company AT&T Inc.  on Tuesday said its profit and revenue rose, helped by strong growth in its wireless business and its acquisition of BellSouth.
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Standard &amp; Poor&#39;s on Wednesday raised its ratings on AT&amp;T Wireless Services following its acquisition by Cingular Wireless, a joint venture of SBC Communications Inc.
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Starbucks has upgraded its Wi-Fi offering from a tall to a venti, switching partners from T-Mobile USA to AT&amp;T in a deal that will mean free coffee-shop wireless for millions of U.S. broadband subscribers.The chain&#39;s network of hotspots, the best-known in the U.S., covers more than 7,000 company-owned stores. Users of AT&amp;T Broadband and U-verse DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) services will get free access to the networks, and the carrier will soon extend benefits to AT&amp;T Wireless customers as well, according to a news release. AT&amp;T business customers with remote-access subscriptions will be able to buy unlimited, flat-rate access at any Starbucks location.AT&amp;T had 14.2 million lines of DSL in service at the end of last year. Its wireless arm has about 70 million subscribers. T-Mobile, a subsidiary of Germany&#39;s Deutsche Telekom, said it had 28.7 million subscribers at year&#39;s end.Although 3G (third-generation) cellular networks are nearing typical wired broadband speeds, Wi-Fi hotspots in key locations such as airports, hotels and cafes remain an attractive option for people who need high-speed connectivity on the road. T-Mobile has provided the Starbucks networks as part of its national hotspot service for several years, with a variety of paid plans including US$6 for one hour, $9.99 for a day and $29.99 per month with an annual agreement. Prices under AT&amp;T will be slightly lower, including $3.99 for two hours and $19.99 per month.But the deal also opens up a whole new customer base for the hotspots: Starbucks customers with an active Starbucks stored-value card will get two hours of free access per day. All that&#39;s needed to keep a card active is to have money stored on it and to buy something with it at least once a month, said Starbucks spokeswoman Bridget Baker. Starbucks employees will also get free access.AT&amp;T will take over the networks market by market, starting in the next few months and finishing by the end of the year, the companies said. Under a roaming agreement to be implemented by March 31, T-Mobile subscribers will also be able to use the AT&amp;T Starbucks networks, Baker said.The deal significantly expands AT&amp;T&#39;s network of hotspots, giving it 17,000 U.S. sites (about 70,000 worldwide) and adding a popular Web-surfing location to its lineup, which today includes McDonald&#39;s restaurants, Barnes &amp; Noble bookstores and some hotels and airports. It builds on an existing relationship in which AT&amp;T has provided back-end networks for Starbucks stores for more than 10 years, Baker said. The carrier will provide Starbucks an enterprise-class network with increased bandwidth and redundancy, according to the release.The prospect of high-speed access at Starbucks should help AT&amp;T attract new DSL customers and hold onto existing ones, telecommunications analyst Jeff Kagan wrote in a commentary on the deal.&quot;The customer wins because they get to take advantage of money saving bundles, and AT&amp;T win&#39;s because it keeps customers happy which means hanging on to the customer in an increasingly competitive marketplace, and Starbucks win&#39;s because it expands their digital entertainment platform and gives customers more reasons to spend time in the stores,&quot; Kagan wrote.
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The Department of Justice (DoJ) today announced that it would approve Cingular&#39;s $41 billion dollar acquisition of AT&amp;T Wireless , provided the mobile carrier sells assets, such as spectrum and customer contracts, in 11 states.
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Following approval from two U.S. government agencies, Cingular Wireless LLC has completed the $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc., creating the nation's largest wireless carrier.