Wireless

T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom, may be losing out on $39 billion from its failed attempt to merge with AT&T, but on Tuesday the company gave a bit more detail on its consolation prize.

But will the breakup fee be enough to save T-Mobile?

On Monday, AT&T announced that it had ended its pursuit to buy T-Mobile. The company said it decided to pull the plug after it became clear it could not persuade regulators of the benefits of the merger.

While the dissolution of the deal leaves AT&T without much-needed spectrum to … Read more

AT&T finally ditched its plan to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion on Monday, after months of intense lobbying.

AT&T blamed regulators for the deal's demise, and the company said in a statement that consumers would be harmed and investment would be stifled as a result. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission--the two agencies that opposed the deal--said that AT&T's decision to abandon its purchase was a victory for consumers.

"Consumers won today," Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division Sharis A. Pozen … Read more

AT&T said today that it has withdrawn its bid to acquire T-Mobile USA in a deal worth $39 billion.

The company said it would take a $4 billion charge in the fourth quarter as part of the break-up fee with Deutsche Telekom. The companies had agreed to this break-up fee when they formed the deal, which was announced in March. AT&T said the companies will also enter into a mutually beneficial roaming agreement.

There had been much speculation about how long AT&T would fight to keep its deal with T-Mobile alive. In August, the … Read more

AT&T may be shifting gears as it prepares to abandon its original plan to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper reported today that talks between AT&T and the U.S. Department of Justice to come up with an acceptable plan for the wireless giant to buy T-Mobile have stalled. The Justice Department sued AT&T in August to stop the planned merger, stating that such a merger would hurt competition.

Since then AT&T has considered divesting or giving up certain parts of the T-Mobile network … Read more

It was an exciting year in the mobile wireless market, one full of deal-making and wonderful drama.

AT&T announced its $39 billion bid for T-Mobile USA. Google said it would by Motorola's wireless division. Nokia ditched Symbian for Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system. Sony took control of Sony Ericsson. And Verizon Wireless announced it would pay $3.6 billion to get its hands on wireless spectrum held by the major cable operators.

Apple, meanwhile, squabbled with everyone in court over patents. Verizon quickly blanketed the country with 4G LTE wireless service. Samsung soared to the top … Read more

Verizon Wireless is scooping up more wireless spectrum from another cable provider.

On Friday, Cox Communications said it will sell Verizon Wireless its 20MHz slice of wireless spectrum for $315 million. As part of the deal, Verizon and Cox will resell each others residential and commercial services. The deal is similar in scope to one Verizon announced a couple of weeks ago with a consortium of cable operators called Spectrum Co., which includes Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks.

And like the deal with the Spectrum Co. cable companies Cox will have the option in the future to … Read more

The trickiest thing about technology is that six months after you buy the hottest gadget, another product is introduced that makes your once-cutting-edge device look like yesterday's news.

And in the smartphone world, it seems like that cycle of hot-to-not is rapidly increasing. So what's a cell phone aficionado to do?

The perfect smartphone

Dear Maggie, I need your help. I'm a Verizon Wireless customer, and I'm in the market for a new smartphone. My contract is up next month. I was wondering if you think the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the best choice for someone … Read more

LightSquared's wireless network will interfere with a "majority" of GPS devices, according to a report from federal officials.

The official report released late yesterday, showed that the LightSquared network still caused harmful interference in a majority of general-purpose GPS receivers, according to Anthony Russo, director of the National Coordination Office for Space-based Positioning, Navigation and Timing, an advisory committee made up of government and industry.

The Department of Transportation and the Department of Defense joined in the statement issued on Wednesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration conducted separate testing, and it also found that LightSquared's network interferes … Read more

The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that states ban the use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices while driving.

The five-member board unanimously agreed to the recommendation today, according to a press release. Specifically, the agency is recommending that the ban apply to both hands-free and handheld phones. Several states have already passed laws restricting text messaging while driving and many require drivers use hands-free devices while talking on the phone. The NTSB's recommendations go far beyond these current restrictions.

The NTSB doesn't have the authority to actually impose restrictions, but its recommendations often influence … Read more