Things Customers Can Foresee Through AT&T-Mobile Merge

The announcement that was made on Sunday has millions wondering what’s coming to us. In case you’ve been left out, AT&T has announced that they are in the position to acquire T-Mobile USA for a whopping 39 billion. Looking beyond the contract scope, mobile users are left with nothing but questions as to what will happen to their service. Looking at review literature, there are some things us customers can foresee coming to us through the merge, both good and bad. Below are some Pros and Cons of the merge that I’ve put together through piecing literature.
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PROS
-For starters, customers can expect to see a larger selection of mobile devices to choose from. Compared to AT&T, T-mobile’s selection of devices is limited. Perfect examples include the BlackBerry Torch 9800 and Apple iPhone. Will T-Mobile start selling iPhones after the merge? Its unsure to say now, but I wouldn’t rule out the initial GSM iPhone just yet.
– Second, expect better network coverage along with wide spectrum and added LTE. Combining both networks should improve network performance due to the extra towers available.  Also noticed, today’s AT&T phones, such as current 3G BlackBerry smartphones can’t use T-Mobile’s 3G wireless data network, and vice versa, because they run on different frequencies. Read BerryReview’s post on T-Mobile 3G BlackBerrys Will Need to be Replaced With AT&T Merger?
-Third,  we can definitely see wider rural broadband coverage through AT&T’s pledge.  The infrastructure pledge includes ultrafast broadband network by $8 billion, to cover specifically, rural areas.
CONS
-First,  our beloved calling plans that we sign for two years might vanish. With the acquisition, there will be fewer pricing plans to choose from. Its transparent that T-Mobile and AT&T have different plans, some of which are subject to vanish from the market.
-Second, goodbye “unlimited data plans.” Currently, T-Mobile USA still offers “unlimited” data for smartphones for $30 per month even though its slows down downloads after 5 gigabytes of traffic in a month.  However, AT&T did away with their unlimited data plans and now offer usage caps and overage fees. We’re hoping former “unlimited” subscribers would likely be grandfathered in, but AT&T would probably stop offering the plan to new subscribers.
-Third, No more UMA calling. Currently, T-mobile offers free UMA wifi calling. AT&T does not, so let’s add that to the list of disappearing features that T-mobile customers love so much.
-Expect higher prices on plans. It’s going to take someone to help pay for the 39 billion dollar tab. Who else to help pay than us customers! That’s right, with less competition and a hefty bill prices are subject to rise.
I’ve been hearing mixed reviews from former and current At&T + T-mobile customers about the merge. Each has had their share of good and bad services from each provider. As a current T-mobile customer, I like where i’m at. As a mobile user, I want to be a part of the most leading, cutting edge, communications technology so a merge like this can have different effects depending on each end users experience. In other words, time will tell.

via yahoo