Great Network Won't Make Up for Boring Phones

AT&T, Verizon, Sprint lose out by subsidizing Apple's cell phone

(NEWSER) - Apple's profits are soaring , but at the expense of cell phone carriers who subsidize iPhone sales. AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint all pay about $600 for iPhones that they resell to customers for $200. The carriers figure they'll make up the loss with monthly cell phone bills—but Verizon and AT&T stock have both dropped, and Sprint's losses have ballooned by 40%, since they started selling the coveted iPhone, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»

They yank application from FCC but haven't given up on the deal

(NEWSER) - AT&T and T-Mobile have unexpectedly withdrawn their merger application from FCC consideration. While the move hints at trouble for the $39 billion deal, the companies say they’re not giving up, Politico reports. Instead, they’ll focus on getting approval from the Justice Department—either by winning an antitrust lawsuit against the proposed deal lodged by the department or through a settlement. Still, AT&T is, for the first time, acknowledging that things could go wrong for the deal. More»

...and what the FCC can do about it

(NEWSER) - Wireless carriers call for minimum regulations on their industry, claiming their market is competitive. But with consumers bound by two-year contracts, it’s easy for companies like Verizon and AT&T to take advantage. It’s time for the FCC to get serious about protecting wireless users, the editors of the New York Times write. The agency can start by curbing early termination fees on contracts to give consumers more power to shop around. Text messaging provides another disturbing example. More»

AT&T reports 200K orders, calls sales strong

(NEWSER) - The just-announced iPhone 4S may not be an iPhone 5 , but it is still another big hit for Apple, which sold out its pre-orders in just 12 hours, reports the International Business Times . AT&T alone reported more than 200,000 pre-orders, saying it was the most successful iPhone launch ever, and Sprint and Verizon also reported strong sales. Already there are three people waiting in line at Apple's 5th Avenue store, two of whom have been there for 12 days. More»

The consensus: 'Ma Bell is back'

(NEWSER) - Reactions to the surprise AT&T-T-mobile merger are pouring in, and, not surprisingly, most conclude this isn't a good thing for consumers:

• The Bell telephone system—"aka AT&T"—was broken up in 1984 to increase competition, and the US telecommunications market was deregulated in 1996, again to increase competition. But this merger "effectively restores Ma Bell to her former girth yet allows the company to operate in a looser regulatory environment," writes David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times . "Consumers might wonder if they've been played. ... Ma Bell is back," and the only thing left for federal regulators to do is instill "new rules that address the shortcomings of our failed experiment in deregulation."