Meet the new Ma Bell, same as the old Ma Bell
By now, you’ve heard our take on the AT&T, T-Mobile acquisition but I cannot stress how big of a deal this is if it goes through. AT&T-Mobile will have more than 120 million users to become the largest carrier in the United States and it will have a virtual lock on the GSM market in this territory. The ripple effects will be felt by consumers, handset makers, app makers and more.
Even if this deal can pass regulators – and that’s a big “if” – it won’t be completed until late this year or early 2012 and the integration will take years. In the meanwhile, both companies will try and remain business as usual and AT&T announced the HD7S and the Thrill 4G. T-Mobile is expected to be very quiet at this show, as it doesn’t have a major press conference scheduled.
The fun part should kick off Tuesday morning, as the CEO of AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon will lead a keynote that will have a lot to talk about. We’ll be live blogging the event on IntoMobile, so tune in around 9 a.m. EST (6 a.m. PST) for a blow by blow. It should be quite dishy, judging by what Sprint already said.