For those in the US, this will probably affect you:

http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/articles/a ... mobile-USA

AT&T has agreed to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion
> Should take 12 months for merger to complete (pending approval)
> If approval is granted, AT&T gains 100% ownership of T-Mobile USA, Deutsche Telekom (parent company) gets 1 seat on board of directors
> One major GSM carrier in the US

If approval is denied:
> Deutsche Telekom pays AT&T $3 billion as a "sorry for wasting your time" thing, both networks gain roaming agreements with each other

Worth noting:
> Both AT&T and T-Mobile USA use GSM 850/1900
> AT&T uses 850 and 1900 for 3G (UMTS)
> T-Mobile uses AWS 1700/2100 for 3G (UMTS) - phone needs both bands to work on 3G
> Device compatibility is an issue, the only pentaband 3G phone I can think of is the Nokia N8 (850/900/1700/1900/2100 3G)
> Most pentaband phones are 800/850/900/1900/2100, 800 3G for Japan
> "4G" does not exist on AT&T or T-Mobile, no matter what they say. Just the stupid name they give for HSPA data on 3G
> AT&T can do whatever they want with your plan!
> The iPhone is not coming to T-Mobile. One - They do not have an agreement with Apple - Two - 1700/2100 won't get them far

T-Mobile around the rest of the world remains the same, Deutsche Telekom is only selling T-Mobile USA

What do you mean 4G doesn't exist on T-Mobile? They have been advertising it heavily for months that they have America's Largest 4G Network. It does make sense for At&t to buy them out since both are GSM, and they can probably improve their network by using some of T-mobile's infrastructure.

iPhone came at our T-Mobile..
And phew, no changes will happen then, we're already in deep hell of it...

Because AT&T and Verizon don't exist in Croatia?

AT&T&T

Haha. That's the new company name. But anyways I don't see how they can do this, wouldn't it cost them (AT&T) money to support all of the old phones because it's illegal to just say sorry we're broke and your phone is useless now. Besides I don't like the idea for having just one GSM carrier in the US because then that puts all price control on them and I'll have a $150 monthly bill for an iPhone soon.

hmm, I am on as a pay as you go customer with T-Mobile since Bell and Rogers really like being expensive and stuff.

Ah, someone who has been sucked in by the marketing hype

4G on T-Mobile, or AT&T, does not come close to any "real" "4G" definition. Both carriers use HSPA+ for 3G data, and market it as "4G" speeds, when in reality, it is nowhere near.

HSPA+ is just a data technology on 3G, much like GPRS or EDGE on 2G.

Back to GSM: Like I said, their current networks are incompatible. But it seems AT&T have plans to use their AWS (current 3G) spectrum for LTE, a new technology, well closer to the 4G defintion. You can find these plans on sites like engadget - if you can understand all the tech talk



It says in the title T-Mobile USA, and Deutsche Telekom isn't doing anything with other T-Mobile carriers around the world.



$39 billion includes new handsets for affected T-Mobile customers to support AT&T's current and future 3G and LTE networks. Not sure if they will just be handing them out, or if they'll be subsidised. Probably subsidised