Posts Tagged ‘Deutsche Telekom’
AT&T is buying T-Mobile for $39 billion
AT&T has announced a definitive agreement to buy Deutsche Telekom’s American T-Mobile subsidiary in a cash and stock deal worth about $39 billion, and giving the German carrier an 8 percent stake in AT&T…
T-Mobile and AT&T share similar GSM and UMTS/HSPA networks, and both are working to build new next generation networks using HSPA+ and LTE. However, obtaining the rights to radio spectrum and building out these networks is both expensive and complex.
AT&T’s chief executive Randall Stephenson said the deal “provides a fast, efficient and certain solution to the impending exhaustion of wireless spectrum in some markets, which limits both companies’ ability to meet the ongoing explosive demand for mobile broadband…”
T-Mobile adds 33.7 million subscribers to AT&T’s network of of about 95.5 million, creating a total of about 130 million users, and becoming the largest American carrier. The deal will also expand Apple’s iPhone to three of what were the top four US carriers, as Apple has already brought it to Verizon earlier this year.
RTFA for the details. Fascinating – and expanded choices for anyone who owns or intends to own a GSM mobile device. In our market in northern New Mexico, we had held off on buying any iPhones or 3G iPads because of the requirement of dealing with AT&T. Their service is mediocre here at best. T-Mobile has been our personal choice for cellular service for years.
OK – aside from the new availability of hardware and increased network access across the country, what will this mean for consumers? In the opinion of many, we’re more likely to be screwed by higher prices, narrower opportunities for software and app developers.
One of the best analysts in the world on the dynamic mobile market is Om Malik. Here’s a link to his analysis as the story broke. Not especially optimistic.
T-Mobile admits to data theft for 17 million customers – in 2006!
Europe’s leading telecommunications company, Deutsche Telekom, has admitted that it has lost confidential data belonging to 17 million T-mobile clients. The theft, in 2006, which is now subject to a judicial inquiry, involved telephone numbers, dates of birth, addresses and email addresses, subsidiary T-Mobile said in a statement.
Spokesman Frank Domagala said that bank details were not attached, and that “according to our information, even though these details have been put up for sale on the black market, there has not been a buyer.”
Domagala added that data security procedures have been reinforced since 2006.
Whoop-de-doo!
According to news weekly Der Spiegel, copies of the information continue to circulate.
If this isn’t something that had to be reported to T-mobile clients – why not?
Largest Euro Telco caught spying
Will the new CEO stonewall – or clean house? |
René Obermann, the chief executive of Deutsche Telekom, threatens “serious consequences” for any of its executives involved in an extraordinary surveillance operation aimed at plugging leaks from the boardroom to business journalists…
The affair came to light when the consultancy sent a fax to DT complaining of unpaid bills for the surveillance work, dubbed “Operation Clipper”. The operation may yet clip Mr Obermann’s wings: business reporters were busily calling each other yesterday to check which colleagues had figured in the phone records, whether they should now change phone company – and whether there was any significance in the fact that the monitoring ended soon after Mr Obermann achieved his aim of taking over DT…
Hendrik Zoerner, of the German Journalists’ Federation, said: “We have never experienced such a blatant breach of confidentiality before.” Mr Ricke has admitted that he was concerned about leaks – “Telekom was as full of holes as a Swiss cheese,” he told Der Spiegel – but he denies ordering the monitoring.
The snooping carried on through a couple of administrations at DT. And doesn’t this smell like HP?
