SBC purchase of AT&T
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/telecom/200 ... »
So now that SBC 'will be THE largest U.S. provider of traditional landline and wireless communications services to homes and businesses'... what do you guys think that will mean for Cingular??? They own 60%
So now that SBC 'will be THE largest U.S. provider of traditional landline and wireless communications services to homes and businesses'... what do you guys think that will mean for Cingular??? They own 60%
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I think SBC's and Cingular IMS strategy is going to make them huge. From what I have heard about the possibilities of IMS, we're talking wireless cable tv and network hubs in the home.
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Yep... I remember my communications professor back in 97/98 telling us about how all the cable and landline companies would one day be competing for all of our business; tv/internet/cellular... i never dreamed it would get this big... but he was right...
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Hearing that the AT&T name will live on makes me happier than I probably should be. 😁
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Does anybody here think that SBC could either buy Bellsouth's stake in Cingular or perhaps persuade the company to allow the renaming of Cingular? I've heard people saying that SBC was throwing the idea around about using the AT&T Wireless name once again...but I don't know how realistic that would be.
I'd love to see it though.
I'd love to see it though.
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SBC could, however, i doubt bell south would sell them their stake, because it would mean that SBC would incur the debt that BLS borrowed to pay for ATT wireless, which SBC wouldnt do. i think it is just better to have things as they are. it gets expensive for companies to fund their wireless carrier all to themselves and thats why we have many partnerships.
i dont like the idea of having the name changed to ATT wireless because, i dont think ATT will allow that, second is that ATT wireless had a horrible name and their subscriber growth were declining and even in the negative territory at some points.
just my opinion.
i dont like the idea of having the name changed to ATT wireless because, i dont think ATT will allow that, second is that ATT wireless had a horrible name and their subscriber growth were declining and even in the negative territory at some points.
just my opinion.
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nextel18 said:
SBC could, however, i doubt bell south would sell them their stake, because it would mean that SBC would incur the debt that BLS borrowed to pay for ATT wireless, which SBC wouldnt do. i think it is just better to have things as they are. it gets expensive for companies to fund their wireless carrier all to themselves and thats why we have many partnerships.
Sound reasons. I agree.
nextel18 said:...
i dont like the idea of having the name changed to ATT wireless because, i dont think ATT will allow that, second is that ATT wireless had a horrible name and their subscriber growth were declining and even in the negative territory at some points.
just my opinion.
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RUFF1415 said:...nextel18 said:
SBC could, however, i doubt bell south would sell them their stake, because it would mean that SBC would incur the debt that BLS borrowed to pay for ATT wireless, which SBC wouldnt do. i think it is just better to have things as they are. it gets expensive for companies to fund their wireless carrier all to themselves and thats why we have many partnerships.
Sound reasons. I agree.nextel18 said:
i dont like the idea of having the name changed to ATT wireless because, i dont think ATT will allow that, second is that ATT wireless had a horrible name and their subscriber growth were declining and even in the negative territory at some
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How is this theory:
SBC buys out BellSouth
BellSouth buys Sprint/Nextel (they need deep pockets to complete with Verizon and Cingular after buying out all the affiliates for more than $15 billion - merger total cost $50 billion)
T-Mobile only national carrier not owned by a baby bell.
Not my theory but one of a good friend.
SBC buys out BellSouth
BellSouth buys Sprint/Nextel (they need deep pockets to complete with Verizon and Cingular after buying out all the affiliates for more than $15 billion - merger total cost $50 billion)
T-Mobile only national carrier not owned by a baby bell.
Not my theory but one of a good friend.
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Sorry, SBC buys out BellSouth from Cingular, not BellSouth in general.
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I like it... that's the only one I haven't thought of........ check the Verizon forum.... i said if i didn't know more than Cingular, it was because of you.... lol.... I know both sides of Cingular pretty well SBC and BST...........
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Sprint Nextel may be good but the deep pockets of a bell will propel them to another level. They have to have it to compete for the next 20 years.
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Yes... honestly, Verizon is only a competitor per quarter... Sprint Nextel has the governement and the cable companies as allies... they pose more of a threat than Verizon... but a lot of southern politicians are in the White House right now............ I don't want to turn this into a political debate, but...................... SBC bought our AT&T, Verizon bought out MCI...... that's not Norther, union mentality at work there, is it?
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Hello Moto said:
Yes... honestly, Verizon is only a competitor per quarter... Sprint Nextel has the governement and the cable companies as allies... they pose more of a threat than Verizon... but a lot of southern politicians are in the White House right now............ I don't want to turn this into a political debate, but...................... SBC bought our AT&T, Verizon bought out MCI...... that's not Norther, union mentality at work there, is it?
Northern....... sorry.
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texaswireless said:
Sprint Nextel may be good but the deep pockets of a bell will propel them to another level. They have to have it to compete for the next 20 years.
Sprint/Nextel's alliance with cable companies is a result of the fact that they have no affiliation to baby bells. If they were owned by a baby bell, they would be no different from Verizon or Cingular. They can create deep pockets to use in the battle with Verizon, Cingular and TMobile by successfully executing the cable bundling strategy.
It's still unknown if customers will flock to sprint/nextel through cable bundling if their current service through Verizon/Cingular/TMobile is satisfactory. The marketing may be to introduce cable ...
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I don't think you have any idea of how much money SBC has in comparison to Sprint.
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I know they are loaded, but just because they have deep pockets doesn't mean that they should spend it in any manner they think. Their shareholders would be up in arms telling them to return the money to them instead of spending frivolously. The capital providers, which include the shareholders, of SBC expect it to invest in projects that will provide a return of >10% or whatever the cost of capital is for SBC.
They could buy out BellSouth's stake if BellSouth wanted to sell. Since Cingular is the fastest growing business in BellSouth, that won't be happening unless BellSouth can find alternate projects with comparable returns.
They could buy out BellSouth's stake if BellSouth wanted to sell. Since Cingular is the fastest growing business in BellSouth, that won't be happening unless BellSouth can find alternate projects with comparable returns.
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both sbc and sprint have tons of money especially sprint becuase they are spinning off their ilec and getting rid of 7 or 8 billion dollars from their books.
actually shareholders of both companies have been getting money to them becuase they pay dividends and buy back stock.
"They could buy out BellSouth's stake if BellSouth wanted to sell. Since Cingular is the fastest growing business in BellSouth, that won't be happening unless BellSouth can find alternate projects with comparable returns. "
we are talking about SBC buying them right? bell south wouldnt sell. its just like vodafone wouldnt sell their stake in verizon wireless even though they could and verizon would have to pay more then $20 billion dollars for that to happen....
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actually shareholders of both companies have been getting money to them becuase they pay dividends and buy back stock.
"They could buy out BellSouth's stake if BellSouth wanted to sell. Since Cingular is the fastest growing business in BellSouth, that won't be happening unless BellSouth can find alternate projects with comparable returns. "
we are talking about SBC buying them right? bell south wouldnt sell. its just like vodafone wouldnt sell their stake in verizon wireless even though they could and verizon would have to pay more then $20 billion dollars for that to happen....
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"SBC buys out BellSouth
BellSouth buys Sprint/Nextel "
this doesnt make sense and the fcc will never allow it....
why?
well if SBC buys out bell south and BLS buys out sprint-nextel, that would mean that they would own cingular and sprint-nextel, which wont ever be allowed.
unless you mean that SBC buys out BEllsouth's stake in CINGULAR, then that makes more sense.
BellSouth buys Sprint/Nextel "
this doesnt make sense and the fcc will never allow it....
why?
well if SBC buys out bell south and BLS buys out sprint-nextel, that would mean that they would own cingular and sprint-nextel, which wont ever be allowed.
unless you mean that SBC buys out BEllsouth's stake in CINGULAR, then that makes more sense.
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nextel18 said:
"SBC buys out BellSouth
BellSouth buys Sprint/Nextel "
this doesnt make sense and the fcc will never allow it....
why?
well if SBC buys out bell south and BLS buys out sprint-nextel, that would mean that they would own cingular and sprint-nextel, which wont ever be allowed.
unless you mean that SBC buys out BEllsouth's stake in CINGULAR, then that makes more sense.
Yeah, I think that's what he meant since we've all been talking about it. But Sprextel would lose their alliance with Cable Companies if Bell South ever became involved.
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phonefriend said:
I think he meant Cingular would buy out BellSouth's stake in Cingular.
I meant SBC would buy out BellSouth's stake in Cingular.
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yea, i think and i hope thats what he meant as well, but when you post at 2am lol, i guess you dont really know what you are talking about? lol
i dont think they would lose their alliance...
i dont think they would lose their alliance...
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Yes, if you read my next post I clarified that in case it wasn't clear.
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I don't know if you guys know this but many of the corporate guys that were retained and given executive positions were Blue people. If and when Cingular takes on this name again, it will be a breath of fresh air. People will be more excited about the name AT&T than Cingular especially now that SBC will become AT&T.
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Executives at SBC and Bell south chose the name "Cingular" for the joint venture since it did not want to give the one of the parent companies an upper hand. Verizon wireless is the exception only because one of the parties of the JV -Vodaphone - does not have any operations here.
The only way Cingular could change its name to ATT wireless again, would be if BellSouth sold its ownership to SBC--> ATT. Otherwise BellSouth would object. Despite have 40% ownership it must have veto rights over certain things such as nomenclature of the JV.
The only way Cingular could change its name to ATT wireless again, would be if BellSouth sold its ownership to SBC--> ATT. Otherwise BellSouth would object. Despite have 40% ownership it must have veto rights over certain things such as nomenclature of the JV.
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Bell South could always negotiate. It would be in their interest since the AT&T name means Revenue.
Maybe Cingular could just change the name of their Business Operations to AT&T and keep the Consumer Operations Cingular.
Maybe Cingular could just change the name of their Business Operations to AT&T and keep the Consumer Operations Cingular.
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i actually dont want cingular to change to att wireless, becuase att wireless' name was horrible and they were losing customers like its no tomorow. i think cingular is a good name, however, they probably should come up with another one to have a fresh start after the merger.
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With all the money they had to spend on rebranding ATTWS stores and handsets, I don't think it will happen for awhile. That doesn't mean it will never happen, cell phone companies change names like I change my underwear (once every three years).
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well every company with every merger has to go through that phase and then after its completed then perhaps start to report steller earnings and great growth. cingular, in my view, hasnt performed up to par. i am actually tired of the excuses a few members on here, i wont say, have been saying with cingular being quiet and a sleeper company looking to do something big later on and wont lose the number 1 spot in a year to verizon. (etc..)
i just think cingular needs to complete the integration and fix their customer care, billing and other things and then change their name to start over and try again.
i think they could have some major problems in the future if they dont fix this mess that they are having...
i just think cingular needs to complete the integration and fix their customer care, billing and other things and then change their name to start over and try again.
i think they could have some major problems in the future if they dont fix this mess that they are having...
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hey ralph! to change your underware every 3 years is just nasty. lower it down to 2 1/2 years. thats way more suitable
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You are clearly close minded then. AT&T not only held the most prestigious name in telecommunications for 130 years, but also in wireless for the 20 years it was around. AT&T has one of the greatest brands going in this country, it would only make sense to keep it going.
Cingular is a young name yet...AT&T would do much better.
Cingular is a young name yet...AT&T would do much better.
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close minded? lol.. what immaturity...
anyway, i am saying the name "att wireless" not "att" is a bad name, but "att" is a great name.
Att wireless was a horrible company before it got bought out....
earlier when i said about att and letting cingular use att wireless instead, you mis-understood me becuase you didnt get it. what i said was that i dont think att made a big deal about having att wireless use the name "ATT" and that is what i was getting at.
(http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20040806/16 42204_F.shtml)
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/article s/A37666-2004May18.html )
i forgot where it said that there was a battle but those two links above show that att wireless was having problems, ATT is a great brand ...
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anyway, i am saying the name "att wireless" not "att" is a bad name, but "att" is a great name.
Att wireless was a horrible company before it got bought out....
earlier when i said about att and letting cingular use att wireless instead, you mis-understood me becuase you didnt get it. what i said was that i dont think att made a big deal about having att wireless use the name "ATT" and that is what i was getting at.
(http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20040806/16 42204_F.shtml)
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/article s/A37666-2004May18.html )
i forgot where it said that there was a battle but those two links above show that att wireless was having problems, ATT is a great brand ...
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You're not understanding.
SBC bought AT&T Wireless for Cingular. SBC also is buying AT&T corporation. Therefore, it is nobody's say in whether or not Cingular is rebranded as AT&T Wireless other than SBC and Bellsouth, considering SBC owns the rights to the entire AT&T brand name. Corporation and wireless alike.
You seem to have thought otherwise.
SBC bought AT&T Wireless for Cingular. SBC also is buying AT&T corporation. Therefore, it is nobody's say in whether or not Cingular is rebranded as AT&T Wireless other than SBC and Bellsouth, considering SBC owns the rights to the entire AT&T brand name. Corporation and wireless alike.
You seem to have thought otherwise.
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I don't think they would rebrand for two reasons.
1) They just spent a ton of money re-branding old ATTWS stores, they aren't about to spend even more re-branding legacy orange stores, then even more re-re-branding former blue stores. Just doesn't make much sense you know?
2) Any idea how confusing that would be to customers? First they were ATTWS now their Cingular (but still on their ATTWS plan, etc..) and then they're ATTWS wireless again, but they can't keep their ATTWS plan they have to migrate over to the new ATTWS so they can get a new phone (etc). They would lose customers just because they were so damn confusing! This doesn't even take into account legacy orange subscribers who would be really confused; "OK I got this thing in...
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1) They just spent a ton of money re-branding old ATTWS stores, they aren't about to spend even more re-branding legacy orange stores, then even more re-re-branding former blue stores. Just doesn't make much sense you know?
2) Any idea how confusing that would be to customers? First they were ATTWS now their Cingular (but still on their ATTWS plan, etc..) and then they're ATTWS wireless again, but they can't keep their ATTWS plan they have to migrate over to the new ATTWS so they can get a new phone (etc). They would lose customers just because they were so damn confusing! This doesn't even take into account legacy orange subscribers who would be really confused; "OK I got this thing in...
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Oh P.S. I'd actually like us to use the ATTWS name (even being legacy orange), but that's just my two cents.
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I'm not saying it would have to happen the day after the deal between SBC and AT&T closes. It could be a couple of years down the road...say...2007. That way Cingular can have the time to work out all the kinks of the merger and get back on their feet. Then the AT&T brand recognition could kick in and when people sign up, they'll likely stay with us after they have worked through all of the problems they currently have.
Seems like a win-win situation to me.
AT&T's name isn't dying anytime soon.
Seems like a win-win situation to me.
AT&T's name isn't dying anytime soon.
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To use the AT&T name again if they could would be a good idea, I agree.
AT&T is a household word pretty much everywhere in the US. Despite all da commercials and what some surveys might say, SBC ain't.
If Cingular could find o' way to change their name to, say, "the NEW AT&T Wireless" after da end of 2007 (when they s'posedly will have all their buildin' blocks in place), dat would be interestin'.
AT&T is a household word pretty much everywhere in the US. Despite all da commercials and what some surveys might say, SBC ain't.
If Cingular could find o' way to change their name to, say, "the NEW AT&T Wireless" after da end of 2007 (when they s'posedly will have all their buildin' blocks in place), dat would be interestin'.
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I'd love to see it happen.
I have some very bitter feelings about the breaking up of AT&T in the 80s to begin with. I understand that it may have helped the telecommunications industry in the long run, but what the government did to such a great company (and name) was unfair. I say let them have what they created. There was no better company in the world.
Seeing the AT&T name used again, like it once was, would be a great thing to see.
I have some very bitter feelings about the breaking up of AT&T in the 80s to begin with. I understand that it may have helped the telecommunications industry in the long run, but what the government did to such a great company (and name) was unfair. I say let them have what they created. There was no better company in the world.
Seeing the AT&T name used again, like it once was, would be a great thing to see.
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Hey, if dey do that, do ya think they could co-opt Dave Chappelle's Rick James sketch then? Like in
"Hey! We're the NEW AT&T WIRELESS, B***H !!!"
😁 🤣 😁
"Hey! We're the NEW AT&T WIRELESS, B***H !!!"
😁 🤣 😁
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Ya know what's gonna be kind of weird. Saying that Cingular is now owned (partly) by AT&T.. People are going to go "Did you just buy out AT&T?" Just a thought..
TheGreatRep
TheGreatRep
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what fact sheet says attws was a horrible company? ur dead wrong. customer service was excellent, phones very good, they rolled out umts 1st and even had talks of 4g, yea the migration from tdma 2 gsm sucked but attws was NOT and i mean NOT a bad company or name.
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What about number portability? I think we can all agree dat ATT wireless definitely screwed the pooch on 'dat one.
I still think ATT is a great household name, but lets' face it, ATT wirelss had some major problems, which led to it bein' bought out.
I still think ATT is a great household name, but lets' face it, ATT wirelss had some major problems, which led to it bein' bought out.
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Cingy was quasi doomed from the start because of its marketing campaign when SBC & BS launched it. This 'thinking of the individual' and a 'singular this' and all that crap made it look like they were catering to kids, not the businesses. Heck, back in the day in my area it was AT&T against BellSouth Mobility trying to get companies away from Nextel and getting those business accounts going.
When people start yammering about who's going to win this and when will VZW surpass Cingy in customers miss the bigger picture...The average wireless user: the person that doesn't work for a wireless company or spend all day on phonescoop. I think these people are looking for the best bang for their buck! That means, eit...
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When people start yammering about who's going to win this and when will VZW surpass Cingy in customers miss the bigger picture...The average wireless user: the person that doesn't work for a wireless company or spend all day on phonescoop. I think these people are looking for the best bang for their buck! That means, eit...
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i just think is is funny that SBC and Bell used to be AT&T but the government made them split into different companies because of a monopoly now they are just buying each other right back up
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BellSouth would never let Cingular's name be changed back to AT&T Wireless! Neither would they ever sell their stake in Cingular. Now what I would like to see is maybe a altering of the current logo for ex. on the i in Cingulars name they could change this to the AT&T globe and make the cingular font look a bit more dangerous or edgy!!!! This would incorporate AT&T into the mix without disturbing the flow of cingular and symbolize the dawning of a new era for the company. The only thing is they would have to time this just right and market the hell out of it! Wadda ya think?
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75vette said:
i just think is is funny that SBC and Bell used to be AT&T but the government made them split into different companies because of a monopoly now they are just buying each other right back up
The nest part is that SBC will be keepint the AT&T name due to the world wide recognition of AT&T and dumping the SBC moniker. When was the last time a company bought a smaller rival but kept their name??
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