AT&T Officially Pitches To FCC Its Acquisition Of T-Mobile

It's been a month since AT&T first announced plans to acquire T-Mobile, a move that made sense to analysts but got consumers concerned about future pricing options. Today, AT&T filed its official application to the FCC detailing why their acquisition should be approved.

AT&T emphasized that the acquisition would help speed up the expansion of their 4G network, which would benefit consumers with improved voice and data service as well as coverage.

"In just the first five-to-seven weeks of 2015, AT&T expects to carry all of the mobile traffic volume it carried during 2010," the carrier said in its filing. "This merger provides by far the surest, fastest and most efficient solution to that challenge. The network synergies of this transaction will free up new capacity – the functional equivalent of new spectrum – in the many urban, suburban and rural wireless markets where escalating broadband usage is fast consuming existing capacity."

They also reassured that T-Mobile customers could continue to enjoy their current rate plans and that the acquisition would actually give them an even greater array of plan options. Customers would also benefit from free mobile-to-mobile calling with the expanded customer base.

"With this acquisition, T-Mobile USA consumers will be able to keep their current rate plans," said AT&T. "AT&T will map T-Mobile USA's rate plans into AT&T's billing systems as we have done in the case of prior acquisitions, so that if a T-Mobile USA consumer wishes to change her existing smartphone to a comparable smartphone from AT&T's device portfolio, she will be able to keep her existing data plan."

"The bottom line is that our merger with T-Mobile USA will offer significant benefits to American consumers. It will address capacity constraints that both of our companies face, which will enable the combined company to provide improved services in the many urban, suburban, and rural markets where the enormous surge in broadband usage is fast consuming available capacity," said AT&T.

[via PC Mag]