By Molly McLaughlin on August 31, 2011 in
The merger between AT&T and T-Mobile seemed all but inevitable - until today. The U.S. Justice Department has announced that it plans to block this deal, citing U.S. antitrust law. The FCC has been reviewing the deal since May of this year and has not yet announced its own decision.
In response, AT&T posted a statement on its website, saying they are "surprised and disappointed" by this development. The company has repeatedly said the deal would be good for the U.S., both by creating jobs and providing 4G coverage throughout the country.
We recently updated our report on cell phone plans, and the reviews on AT&T were far from positive. From our report:
"AT&T (*Est. $40 per month and up) . . .scrapes the bottom of major customer surveys, with lower scores for customer service, call quality, coverage, data service and value. AT&T does win nationwide 3G data speed tests at PC World and Gizmodo.com, but Laptop Magazine gives it an "F" for slow real-world 4G speeds. In a final blow, AT&T now has to share rights to the Apple iPhone with Verizon Wireless -- and tests at Wired and Engadget.com confirm that yes, Verizon iPhones get better coverage and fewer dropped calls."
The carrier has said it plans to implement a better 4G network sometime in 2011.