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Verizon Wireless To Buy Alltel For $28B
CWmike writes "Matt Hamblen reports that Verizon Wireless has officially announced an agreement to purchase Alltel for $28.1 billion, which would make the new company the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., with 80 million subscribers. The deal will undoubtedly provoke scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice, they acknowledge. Who loses? 'This [deal] is another nail in the coffin for Sprint," said Michael Voellinger, an analyst at Telwares in Parsippany, N.J. 'Alltel is a highly valuable and strategic roaming partner to the top four providers, and this acquisition would put long-term pressure on pricing and terms of those arrangements.'"
1. Nails
2. Hammer
3. Coffin
4. Profit!!!
say it. now spell it.
because this is it.
although im a capitalist, im increasingly starting to think that big corporations need a MAJOR whack on their butts so that competition can be a possibility again.
Read radical news here
That alone should be more than sufficient to nix the deal. Anything that would upset the balance in the market this much should require more than stringent guarantees of access at current prices for the next century -- and not for the next 18 months as would be more likely proposed.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
In my area, there are two choices if you wish service outside the metro....Verizon and Alltel. I've been with Alltel for a couple of years and I switched from Verizon. I left Verizon for a reason, and I'm sure many of you know what that is. Poor customer service, billed for things I didn't have, etc, /etc. Alltel has had a few issues with my account, but at least they've resolved them when I call in.
Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope!
brandelf -t FreeBSD
Even though T-Mobile doesn't have the greatest penetration in the US, they are (AFAIK) turning a profit, and have even bigger corporate backing from DT in Germany. That same backing also (hopefully) reduces the chances of a buyout.
Sprint, unfortunately, has neither of those advantages.
"I think an etch-a-sketch with an ethernet port would beat IE7 in web standards compliance."
Does that mean now that the horrible Alltel commercials will finally end?
Fewer choices and greater prices.
I hope this isn't the final nail in Sprint's coffin. I happen to be very attached to my $30/month everything unlimited SERO plan.
Nextel == iDEN phones & network, running nothing of note
Sprint == CDMA phones & network, running J2ME
Result: disaster
Verizon == CDMA phones & network, running BREW
Alltel == CDMA phones and network, running BREW
Result: probably much better
"I think an etch-a-sketch with an ethernet port would beat IE7 in web standards compliance."
We should therefore stop arguing, and accept that theirs is the superior intellect, after all, what could possibly go wrong?
A learning experience is one of those things that say, 'You know that thing you just did? Don't do that.' - D. Adams
Developers: We can use your help.
As many market watchers have pointed out the weaken US economy combined with a likely end to the lazafaire practices of the Bush administration means there are likely to be a fairly large number of mergers started in Q2 and Q3 so that they can get past regulators before a new government is in place.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
and if you give up your freedom for safety/security, then you're protecting nothing.
I wonder what effect this will have on the Alltel commercials: The Verizon kid is the nastiest, most obnoxious of the lot.
</humor>
www.eFax.com are spammers
Alltel is CDMA.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
The good: Verizon will likely merge Alltel's network with their own (relatively easy, since they use the same tech), boosting coverage for subscribers on both networks
The bad: Verizon will definitely replace Alltel's stock firmwares on new phones with their own, locking out features and making them consumer-hostile.
"I think an etch-a-sketch with an ethernet port would beat IE7 in web standards compliance."
No doubt the Alltel customers who are use to My Circle and relatively un-crippled phones compared to Verizon will not like this.
Would customers be able to get out of their contacts when they merge?
However, having a $22 Billion debt is not good for Alltel customers, either. They may have "America's largest network" but they don't exactly have America's largest customer base, (The article I read this morning had them at about 15% and 20% of the Verizon and AT&T customer base, respectively) and in order to continue providing to its customers, the company needs some relief.
Is this a good thing? Maybe. I'd like to think the two networks will operate under a large umbrella and Verizon and Alltel might remain as independent as possible, just provide a more complete network coverage.
Is this a bad thing? Maybe. Alltel customers may be turned off if sudden phone lockdowns come out of this.
Guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Those who believe the Internet is private,
find their privates are on the Internet.
As a very happy Alltel customer I am not sure what to think of this. While being part of a larger provider does offer more features and phones and what not, Alltel is crazy liberal with what they let you do with your phone. Basically if the MFG supports it, GO FOR IT! Verizon on the other hand is the exact opposite. If you don't pay for their branded apps (other than hacking) you don't get it.
Unstable Apps: Our Android Apps Don't Suck
I've been a happy Alltel customer since December - glad to know I can look forward to higher prices, lower customer service, and a throttled internet connection - now likely to be run straight through NSA central. I'm thrilled.
I don't think so, my Alltel Razor talks to my desktop using usb, my office mate's identical Verizon model is locked up.
I'm aging rapidly, I bought a new game and had no idea if my machine was good for it.
Running nothing of Note? Nextel IS the phone of large companies.
NexTel started out as fleet dispatch frequencies and moved into the cell phone range. NexTel has always been an excellent niche between 2 way radios and full blown cell phones.
Our factories have numerous repeaters in them so that we have full coverage in the building. Push to Talk is used constantly. It seems to be the same for all other friends of mine that work in the manufacturing world. AT&T, Verizon are great for upper management and executives but anyone that might get grease on their hands uses a NexTel
J2ME, BREW is all junk for our work. Most of our phones show 4 lines of black on green. They'll all survive a drop from a second story building, being plunged under water and being left in dash in the sun. The batteries also last twice as long as any 'consumer' cell phone I've used.
NexTel definitely has something to bring to the table.
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While I've never used them AllTel has seemed to drive a bit of competition. First they had the "5 friends" thing then it seems everyone had that. Now they're up to "Any friend on any network" which other people seem to be copying.
That's a dictionary definition. That is NOT a US antitrust law (or anyone elses antitrust law) definition. A monopoly market exists when one firm (or a small number of firms) have the ability to raise prices above the [competitive] market level. That alone is not an antitrust violation though. You also need to have them actually do something which is detrimental to the marketplace (predatory pricing, pricing below cost, etc).
-Daniel
To appeal the FCC decision they'd have to go to the courts. Since the FCC is an administrative agency, the courts will basically look only at whether or not the FCC's decision was arbitrary/capricious. That's a pretty tough standard.
By the way, one of the main reasons XM/Sirius was likely approved was because they both lose craptons (that's the technical term) of money. If the choice is zero providers of a service, or one, we prefer taking the one. The other reason it can/has/will be approved is that there's many ways to get music in your car... FM Radio, HD Radio, CD's, iPod's/podcasts, etc. Between the two of these things, they came up with enough reason to approve it.
In the case of VZW/Alltel... well certainly there's no danger of VZW going bankrupt. Alltel is a different story. Their financial picture isn't all that pretty. But just one of them being in trouble won't necessarily be enough to approve it. And certainly there's no other way to get mobile phone service than to use a... mobile phone. But of course there's still 4 major cell carriers. I'd bet this is approved, but for different reasons than XM/Sirius.
-Daniel
Not true. There are many places where only one of those options is available, in which case there is a local monopoly. Not that it matters anyway, since a two-company oligopoly will be just as bad. AT&T and Verizon won't merge: they know that with the highly probable changing of the guard at the Justice Department this year, they'd be broken up instantly. No, what's far more likely is that unspoken collusion will occur, and they'll independently decide to stay off each other's turf. In a very real sense, two monopolies will exist side-by-side. And since all the good spectrum is locked up, it won't even be possible for competitors to form. The telcos need to go the way of the utility companies.
Verizon now has a network that no one will be able to touch for years. Even if ATT bought everyone else it wouldn't have such dominate coverage (That's after getting the technology integrated). In the end ATT will never be able to catch up. Verizon and Alltel are both on the same path to LTE, will have little to no technology integration issues and will save billions in operating and roaming costs. Between their acquisition of MCI, FIOS TV and Internet and now this dominating wireless coverage they pretty much own any kind of retail data you could want to purchase. Wimax is going to be relegated as the last huge failure by Sprint as they fade into the background. Only thing to do is sit back and wait for the commercial where the VZW guy stretches his hand out to Chad and says "Your not such a bad guy". As Chad cracks a tear and puts his hand out the VZW guy rips it off and beats him to death with it.
This is true. However, it is an oligopoly in which collusion and cartels are more likely. And this means the FCC still has pull.
Verizon probably won't win the early termination fees suit if it goes to the US Supreme Court, and it knows that, so it's doing the next most predatory thing it can.
The article in the OP stated: "The companies noted that Alltel is serving 57 mostly rural markets that Verizon Wireless does not serve." In other words, Verizon is buying out the rural markets, giving those people less choice, even if -- and especially if -- the suit does go to the Supreme Court.
It's probably very interesting to note what kind of correlation there is between the states' litigation against Verizon (and its cronies) and the areas Alltel serves: like "dollars of litigation" total in rural states vs. the "dollars of litigation" in the cities that Verizon tends to serve. Very interesting indeed.
We may be able to say goodbye to "those" commercials, but do you really think they won't be replaced? From now on expect only 3 dorks in a van. They'll be looking for their red-shirted friend only to discover that he's hanging out with his network, and that said network is now partially comprised of wizards.
Yeah, "great" is right.
Lord knows we've already got too much competition in the telecom space, right?
Pretty soon we'll have two airlines, two telecoms, two oil companies, two pharmas and two entertainment conglomerates. Oh, and two companies that own all the newspapers, TV networks, etc and those will be two of the companies from the list above. Two companies that make airplanes in the US (or is it down to one now?). Two banks, of course, and they will also be the only two brokerages.
What the fuck is our justice department doing? Have any of them heard of anti-trust?
Ain't the free market grand?
You are welcome on my lawn.
You cannot tell me that you don't enjoy summoning the wwwizzzzard for hours on end.
Of course, but at least I wash my hands afterward.
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
I learned something interesting today.
/line.
However, before we get to that, let me just say I think this is a good thing. I've managed several large cell accounts (500+ handsets) and I've had great experiences with Verizon - their business side is great. At least the reps I've dealt with. Conversely, the company I work for now has Alltel and I think they f*cking suck. For reference though, AT&T is the worst company I've ever deal with (500+ account). Then again, I've never dealt with Sprint. This is probably a regional thing, YMMV.
Anyway, our rep had some interesting news today. Now, Alltel services some VERY rural areas including this remote area of Montana that I live in. According to her, Alltel in Montana will never be operated as Verizon, it is impossible due to FCC regulation. After the sale is complete, Verizon will have to divest our market and any others acquired in which there was direct competition (A & B side carrier designation).... to yet another carrier. This will be a good chunk of real estate so the expectation is that it will be to another major player.
So what does that mean? Verizon is going to suck up a lot of urban areas and urban customers and rural customers are likely to get shafted. Shafted meaning they will be transferred to odd little local carriers (yes - they still exist), such as Chinook. Why? Because Sprint still hasn't built out their PCS network in lots of rural areas. AT&T's GSM still has poor coverage in many areas too compared to Verizon & Alltel's older CDMA technology. Also, rural areas are very expensive to install infrastructure in, especially if you're dealing with mountains.
My recommendation for anyone maintaining a large cell account: stop buy equipment and renewing contracts. This deal will likely take 6 months for acquisition, and then a year for assimilation. That means, get your existing contracts as close to expiration as you can so that you're not incurring costs to break your contract. Right now breaking an Alltel contract is approximately $175
----- obSig
In California Verizon has the best overall network. The big losers in this deal are Sprint and T-Mo. AT&T doesn't need to worry because it's got Apple on their side for 4 more years.
We've got two political parties.
Both of them money from the two telecoms, two oil companies, two pharmas, two entertainment conglomerates and the two "news" companies.
What do you think?
Oh, and the two airline companies are too busy losing too much money to do much of anything else.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!