# AT&T to buy T Mobile **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 20, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-t-to-buy-t-mobile/575389 "2011-03-20T20:01:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-t-to-buy-t-mobile/575389/21 "2011-03-21T02:47:10Z")
Honestly I couldn’t keep up with all the names the phone company has used. Bell, Southwestern Bell, Baby Bell, AT&T, SBC. They hop around all over the place. Who owns what and who controls who is way too technical for me. I do know there’s a wire coming from a pole, that goes into my house and feeds a telephone. My parents have had the same telephone number since 1968. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-t-to-buy-t-mobile/575389/22 "2011-03-21T02:56:51Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think Sprint uses CDMA while both AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM, so it makes a lot more sense for AT&T to buy T-Mobile. That’s true and if Sprint doesn’t fix the ability to talk and use the internet at the same time, they’re not going to be long for this world either. ---
**Author:** ![Cell\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@Cell\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cell_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-t-to-buy-t-mobile/575389/23 "2011-03-21T03:09:39Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > That’s true and if Sprint doesn’t fix the ability to talk and use the internet at the same time, they’re not going to be long for this world either. :dubious: You can’t talk and use data on Verizon’s network and they’re the largest carrier in the US at this moment. It hasn’t hurt them–why would it hurt Sprint? No, Sprint has other issues it needs to worry about. Poor customer service, call quality, an over reliance on a 4G network that no other carriers in the US are using. Those are going to be Sprint’s downfall. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-t-to-buy-t-mobile/575389/24 "2011-03-21T03:20:09Z")
> [@Cell\_Guy](#): > > :dubious: You can’t talk and use data on Verizon’s network and they’re the largest carrier in the US at this moment. It hasn’t hurt them _yet_. As more and more people move to smart phones and phone calls become a smaller and smaller percentage of what people do with their devices, it will kill them. That avalanche of people who were going to leave AT&T for Verizon as soon as Verizon got the iPhone didn’t even come close to happening. Most people are more than willing to trade an occasional or more than occasional dropped call for double the speed on the web and not having a crippled functionality. ---
**Author:** ![Cell\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@Cell\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cell_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-t-to-buy-t-mobile/575389/25 "2011-03-21T03:48:44Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > It hasn’t hurt them _yet_. As more and more people move to smart phones and phone calls become a smaller and smaller percentage of what people do with their devices, it will kill them. That avalanche of people who were going to leave AT&T for Verizon as soon as Verizon got the iPhone didn’t even come close to happening. That’s not why the large defections did not happen. ETFs and a device that will be “out-of-date” in a few months were the biggest reasons. If phone calls become a smaller percentage of what people do with their phones, why would lack of simultaneous voice and data be an issue? > [@](#): > > Most people are more than willing to trade an occasional or more than occasional dropped call for double the speed on the web and not having a crippled functionality. It’s not crippled functionality. CDMA in it’s current version cannot handle voice and data simultaneously. The newest version of CDMA can, but no carrier will upgrade to that version due to LTE rollout. There’s a reason Verizon is the largest US carrier, and that’s call quality. Look at the latest J.D. Power call quality performance study. Verizon scored the highest in five of six geographic areas, and scored second in the other. Most people DO care about dropped calls. Looking at the study, there’s reason for T-Mobile customers to be excited about this potential merger. T-Mobile scored the lowest in all six areas. AT&T scored above the regional average in three of six areas. In theory call quality for T-Mobile customers in some areas should go up. Read about the study here: [http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20110303/CUSTOMERS/110309983/vzw-us-cellular-get-top-honors-in-jd-power-call-quality-survey](http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20110303/CUSTOMERS/110309983/vzw-us-cellular-get-top-honors-in-jd-power-call-quality-survey) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-t-to-buy-t-mobile/575389.md?page=1)