The wireless field gets smaller ...

AT&T has announced plans to purchase T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for about $39billion in cash and stock and an 8% stake in AT&T and a seat on the Board of Directors for a DT executive, combining the second and fourth largest wireless companies into the US' largest cell provider.

AT&T/T-Mobile will become the nation's largest wireless service, followed by Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel.  Most markets are served by about five carriers, but after #3, the numbers served diminish rapidly.

A quick look at the numbers shows the advantage is to AT&T, which quickly will add about 34million subscribers and vastly increased 3G and 4G capability.  On the other hand, traditional national dead zones look like they'll stay dead.  But who calls anyone in Death Valley?

So even with the move back to the pre-Judge Green days of Telco dismemberment, does anyone long for the old days of each market having two cell providers, one a primary and the other a distant secondary service, neither of which covered the entire market?  When, if you had to access the market's secondary net, you had to pay a roaming fee?  And LD calls anywhere actually cost money?

Yes, I welcome our new wireless phone service masters!

Read it all here.

Discuss on the STL Media Message Board. (Registration Required)