Telecom major AT&T and Deutsche Telekom AG have
decided to end AT&T’s bid to acquire T-Mobile USA in a $39 billion deal.
The recent responses from the Federal Communications
Commission and the Department of Justice have contributed to the decision to
pull out of the bid.
The telecom industry is now looking at Dish Network which
recently
announced that it would consider a partnership with T-Mobile USA if AT&T is
unable to take over the fourth U.S. wireless network.
The AT&T and T-Mobile USA combination would have
offered an interim solution to this spectrum shortage. In the absence of
such steps, customers will be harmed and needed investment will be stifled,
AT&T said in a press release.
AT&T will continue to be aggressive in leading the
mobile Internet revolution. Over the past four years we have invested more
in our networks than any other U.S. company. As a result, today we deliver
best-in-class mobile broadband speeds connecting smartphones, tablets and
emerging devices at a record pace and we are well under way with our nationwide
4G LTE deployment,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T
chairman and CEO.
To meet the needs of our customers, we will continue to
invest. However, adding capacity to meet these needs will require policymakers
to do two things. First, in the near term, they should allow the free markets
to work so that additional spectrum is available to meet the immediate needs of
the U.S. wireless industry, including expeditiously approving our acquisition
of unused Qualcomm spectrum currently pending before the FCC. Second,
policymakers should enact legislation to meet our nation’s longer-term spectrum
needs,” Stephenson added.
To reflect the break-up considerations due Deutsche
Telekom, AT&T will recognize a pretax accounting charge of $4 billion in
the 4th quarter of 2011. Additionally, AT&T will enter a mutually
beneficial roaming agreement with Deutsche Telekom.
AT&T recently announced
its association with China Telecom to expand their existing relationship to
deliver advanced global solutions to multinational companies.
Both the partners will expand AT&T’s IP-VPN service
in China to allow broader reach, technology choice, enhanced performance and
reduced total cost of ownership, as MNCs continue to expand their business in
China.
By Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
