[URL]http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/06/us-sprint-lawsuit-idUSTRE7854ZR20110906?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+(News+%2F+US+%2F+Technology)[/URL]
[QUOTE]Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier, filed its lawsuit in the same federal court that is to hear the Department of Justice's case opposing the buyout. A fierce opponent of the deal, Sprint said the combination would lead to higher prices for consumers and create a duopoly between AT&T and Verizon Communications ([URL="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=VZ.N"]VZ.N[/URL]).
"AT&T's proposed takeover of T-Mobile is brazenly anticompetitive," Sprint said in court papers on Tuesday. Sprint said it would be marginalized by the buyout, and the deal "would force consumers to endure higher prices and be denied the fruits of vigorous innovation."
Sprint may have filed its own case in the event that the Justice Department comes to a settlement with AT&T, said Eleanor Fox, a professor at New York University School of Law.
"It may want to have its action out there just in case," she said.
A Sprint spokesman was not immediately available for comment, nor was an AT&T spokesman. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment on Sprint's move.
Sprint's lawsuit was assigned to Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle in Washington, D.C. She was selected at random last week to preside over the Justice Department's case.
The success of Sprint's lawsuit may depend on whether AT&T can find a way to appease the government's concerns over the deal.
It would be a "very uphill climb" for a competitor to block a merger that has been approved by the government, said Rebecca Arbogast, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus and a former division chief at the Federal Communications Commission.
"It's meant to keep a challenge alive even if DOJ ends up settling with AT&T, Arbogast said.
The Justice Department, in a surprise move last week, filed a lawsuit challenging the AT&T deal. It argued that eliminating T-Mobile as a competitor would hurt consumers by raising prices. The government challenge came five months after the deal was announced.
AT&T has promised to fight the Justice Department in court. It has argued that the merger would let it add capacity and meet demand for high-speed wireless service. The company has asked for an expedited hearing in the government's lawsuit.
Sprint argued that if the deal goes through, a combined AT&T and T-Mobile would use its increased market position to exclude competitors.
A big part of Sprint's concern, according to the company's 68-page lawsuit, is its dependence on Verizon and AT&T roaming to provide service to customers when they are outside of a Sprint service area, and backhaul, essentially links from a remote site to a central site.
"With today's legal action, we ... expect to contribute our expertise and resources in proving that the proposed transaction is illegal," Sprint's vice president of litigation Susan Haller said in a statement.
Sprint's move could be aimed at keeping pressure on the Justice Department to continue pressing its court challenge to the deal, said Jeffrey Silva, a telecommunications analyst at investment research firm Medley Global Advisors.
"Some suits start out as litigation, they go head to head, but sometimes they end up in settlement," Silva said. He said "Sprint would rather see this go in a linear fashion" toward blocking the deal.
If AT&T fails to get [URL="http://www.reuters.com/finance/deals/regulatory"]regulatory[/URL] approval for the deal, it will have to pay T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom ([URL="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=DTEGn.DE"]DTEGn.DE[/URL]) an estimated $6 billion break-up fee.
Sprint shares closed down 4.5 percent at $3.37 on the New York Stock Exchange. AT&T shares slipped 0.8 percent to $27.83.
[/QUOTE]
Fuck off AT&T, I'm perfectly fine with T Mobile now.
Sprint, last I heard you still fucking used CDMA and your commercials all had that bitch from Murphy Brown in them.
snipped for bad reading
[QUOTE=MIPS;32153456]Sprint, last I heard you still fucking used CDMA and your commercials all had that bitch from Murphy Brown in them.[/QUOTE]
So does Verizon. In the US it seems to be a choice of good coverage but with no voice and data simultaneously and a maximum of 3.1Mbps, or higher speeds(sometimes) but worse coverage.
It's quite pathetic that the country still has millions of people relying on EvDo though.
[QUOTE=garrynohome;32153655]So does Verizon. In the US it seems to be a choice of good coverage but with no voice and data simultaneously and a maximum of 3.1Mbps, or higher speeds(sometimes) but worse coverage.
It's quite pathetic that the country still has millions of people relying on EvDo though.[/QUOTE]3.1 Mbps is an optimistic figure here. Your lucky to get 1, due to the fact that most towers are reliant on microwave dishes for the backbone with one tower having a fiber connection for a large area. And that's having a very strong signal. Many areas still don't even have reliable EVDO coverage yet and fall back on 1X RTT (2G). 140 Kbps max with 1 second ping. HSPA and such are unreliable solutions, if you travel off interstates and populated areas, since many areas have yet to even get GSM. Although, its getting better since T-Mobile and AT&T just came last year.
Ah, the joys of mobile internet in the rural South Dakota.
[QUOTE=Demache;32154234]3.1 Mbps is an optimistic figure here. Your lucky to get 1, due to the fact that most towers are reliant on microwave dishes for the backbone with one tower having a fiber connection for a large area. And that's having a very strong signal. Many areas still don't even have reliable EVDO coverage yet and fall back on 1X RTT (2G). 140 Kbps max with 1 second ping. HSPA and such are unreliable solutions, if you travel off interstates and populated areas, since many areas have yet to even get GSM. Although, its getting better since T-Mobile and AT&T just came last year.
Ah, the joys of mobile internet in the rural South Dakota.[/QUOTE]
Bell Canada. Constant 7-18Mbps on my I9100 even in heavily populated areas like the GTA. The US needs to stop using microwave dish based towers.
[editline]6th September 2011[/editline]
Oh god. Sprint shares are worth $3.37? And I thought RIM shares were cheap.
Sprint is the best carrier out there.
Great customer service (lost my phone got a free new one no insurance, got my screen smashed got a new screen + battery)
No data caps :):)
[QUOTE=garrynohome;32156136]Bell Canada. Constant 7-18Mbps on my I9100 even in heavily populated areas like the GTA. The US needs to stop using microwave dish based towers.
[editline]6th September 2011[/editline]
Oh god. Sprint shares are worth $3.37? And I thought RIM shares were cheap.[/QUOTE]Well, its not like they have an option. Laying fiber to tons of towers in rural areas is expensive.
[editline]6th September 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=garrynohome;32156136]Bell Canada. Constant 7-18Mbps on my I9100 even in heavily populated areas like the GTA. The US needs to stop using microwave dish based towers.[/QUOTE]Congratulations. You have a better connection on your mobile then most people here have for stationary internet. Unless your lucky enough to live in a remotely populated area. You can get CABLE INTERNET WOOHOO.
[QUOTE=Mr.Dounut;32156861]Sprint is the best carrier out there.
Great customer service (lost my phone got a free new one no insurance, got my screen smashed got a new screen + battery)
No data caps :):)[/QUOTE]
Sprint is great when it works.
Unfortunately, it doesn't where I live.
Ok AT&T, now that you cant buy that company out, fix your internet!
It should not go out when after any lightning strike that I can hear the thunder from it from my house. Oh and reduce your fucking prices jesus christ.
man i don't even give a fuck i got this badass mothafucka in my house
[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tuaw.com/media/2009/10/microcell-1-crop.jpg[/IMG]
hell yea five bars all day every day
[QUOTE=GoldenGnome;32157852]man i don't even give a fuck i got this badass mothafucka in my house
[IMG]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tuaw.com/media/2009/10/microcell-1-crop.jpg[/IMG]
hell yea five bars all day every day[/QUOTE]
Doesn't do shit for me..
[QUOTE=garrynohome;32156136]Bell Canada. Constant 7-18Mbps on my I9100 even in heavily populated areas like the GTA. The US needs to stop using microwave dish based towers.
[editline]6th September 2011[/editline]
Oh god. Sprint shares are worth $3.37? And I thought RIM shares were cheap.[/QUOTE]
Last I heard Bell sucked ass.
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