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AT&T (T) recently announced its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile in a cash and stock offer valued at roughly $39 billion. This is a significant announcement given the size of the two companies and since there was speculation that Sprint (S) might look to acquire T-Mobile. Sprint's shares were down 14% on this news. AT&T's move pits it firmly against Verizon (VZ) as both operators continue to build out their 4G networks.
Our price estimate for AT&T's stock stands at $35.80 which is around 40% ahead of the market price.
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FeedThe Race for 4G: AT&T Buys T-Mobile
Ma Bell Returns: AT&T to Buy T-Mobile for $39 Billion
Telecom giant AT&T (T) is buying T-Mobile USA from Deutche Telekom (DTEGY) for $39 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. The deal is for $25 billion in cash and the balance in stock. Deutche Telekom will get an 8% stake in AT&T. This is a game changer. Now AT&T will have one-third more customers than Verizon (VZ) and twice as many as Sprint Nextel (S). The new AT&T will have about 130 million subscribers. AT&T will have nearly 80% of its business in wireless.
Continue reading Ma Bell Returns: AT&T to Buy T-Mobile for $39 Billion
Walmart Teams Up with T-Mobile to Offer Cell Plans
Walmart (WMT) is teaming up with T-Mobile, which is the U.S. wireless operation of Deutsche Telekom (DTEGY), to offer a unlimited talking and texting for $45 per month, the USA Today reported. The Walmart-branded discounted plan -- Walmart Family Mobile -- will offer 100 megabytes of data. Family members can share the data capacity. Any leftover capacity can be carried over to the next month. When the 100 MB is used up, additional data can be purchased. For example, an extra 200 MB will cost $10, 500 MB will go for $25, and 1 gigabyte for $40.
Continue reading Walmart Teams Up with T-Mobile to Offer Cell Plans
T-Mobile Ponders a Mega Public Offering
As the number four wireless carrier, the situation is grim for T-Mobile USA. In this industry, size does matter in terms of network coverage and access to phone options. Plus, there is downward pressure on pricing, such as from prepaid operators like Leap (LEAP) and MetroPCS (PCS).Now, it looks like shareholders are losing their patience with T-Mobile, which is actually owned by German giant Deutsche Telekom AG (DT).
Verizon and AT&T in Wireless Plan Pricing War
As soon as Verizon Wireless (VZ) cut prices on its wireless calling plans last week, smaller competitor AT&T (T) did the same. Or, should we say, Verizon and AT&T simply rearranged pricing plans to grab psychological mind share more than anything.
As voice becomes something used less every year (while data use skyrockets), charging less for voice calls and more for data features is simply moving things around. Looks better for the customer, but makes little to any difference in revenue for the wireless carrier.
Continue reading Verizon and AT&T in Wireless Plan Pricing War
Why Google Has Lessons to Learn from Real-World Customers
Google (GOOG) is finding out the hard way that a sleek new piece of gadgetry comes with high consumer expectations. The Google Nexus One, which was just released over a week ago for direct sale by Google without a contract from partner T-Mobile USA, is losing the bloom (off the rose, that is).Continue reading Why Google Has Lessons to Learn from Real-World Customers
Yahoo! gets boost from wireless provider T-Mobile
With Yahoo, Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) stock in the dumper, the CEO spot looking for a newcomer and musings about the future of the company underway, perhaps there is a small bright light for the internet pioneer. Wireless provider T-Mobile will use Yahoo!'s mobile search as the default on all its phones' mobile web browsers.
While that may not be the biggest victory one can think of, it does help. Mobile search and web browsing has been increasing in usage (though still small), and although T-Mobile USA is only the nation's fourth-largest mobile provider, just the fact that Yahoo!'s services will keep the largest wireless providers from using competitive mobile search products is a blessing for Yahoo!
Making money from mobile web search is another matter. Although Yahoo! and T-Mobile said they will share revenue from the new arrangement, the question is this: are any mobile search companies and wireless providers making any significant revenue from mobile search partnering? At this point in time, it's hard to see that just based on skimpy usage. While it may not be that way in the future. T-Mobile International, which replaced Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) mobile search with Yahoo!'s solution earlier in 2008 and Yahoo! also has its fingers in mobile search with the largest wireless provider in the U.S., AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T). Perhaps Yahoo!'s rebirth will be around mobile technology after all. It's just a question of when.
Yahoo! struggles to grow mobile business
The conventional wisdom is that the next field where the search engine wars will be waged is mobile devices. The theory behind that is that PC users have already decided what search company they want to use. In about 70% of the cases in the US, that is Google (NASDAQ: GOOG).
With the computer market pretty much gone, if Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) wants to pick up any market share from Google, it has to aim to make deals with handset companies and cellular service providers. It is going down that path, but the success of the move is likely to be modest.
According to Reuters, "Yahoo Inc announced an expansion of its mobile Web portals to T-mobile, so its smart phone users who get data will have Yahoo search by default." Yahoo! also has a deal with AT&T (NYSE:T). The partnerships give the carriers a piece of the search advertising from the mobile service.
Unfortunately, the new deal with T-Mobile will probably not work well. Being the default search engine does not mean much. Almost every person who has a cellphone knows how to set the mobile browser to use Google. In most cases, PCs come with a default browser, and if it is not Google a lot of consumers simply change the setting.
Google does not do well on the PC because it is set up as the first option by the manufacturer. It does well because it is the most effective search engine. People getting T-Mobile phones already know that.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.
T-Mobile's Q4 goal for Google G1 phone: 500,000 sold
According to Taiwan's CENS website, T-Mobile USA will sell half a million of the Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) G1 smartphone built by Taiwan's own HTC and sold exclusively (so far) by T-Mobile USA. Although that's not up to par with announced Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 3G sales, it's no slouch expectation either. When the G1 phone is released for sale on October 22, that leaves just over two months for that projected sales figure to be hit. Although the unit will cost a relatively paltry $179 with a two-year contract, can T-Mobile USA really hit that sales number? I have severe doubts, although T-Mobile USA will easily be able to start competing with established players like Apple in 2009.
Although Apple has an entire year headstart over rivals like the G1 and the Samsung Instinct, there are many customers who want the novelty of a touchscreen smartphone but don't want to be locked down into the Apple ecosystem -- even though it works very well and would serve most customers 100% perfectly.
But then again, Apple's first-mover advantage and its incredibly powerful marketing muscle may just keep it floating above the likes of the Google-powered G1 for quite some time. Google's efforts with the G1 could make it a second-tier player here while Apple dominates. That is, unless, T-Mobile USA starts off quick with half a million in unit sales this holiday season and never looks back. What is your projection?
Could Sprint dump Nextel to join with T-Mobile?
Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) seems to be on the mend from a perception standpoint. CEO Dan Hesse is still running television advertisements with his direct email address and a personal message to potential Sprint subscribers. The cellular carrier has a refined, electric image and has a decent competitor to Apple, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone. Is it still in bad financial shape? That answer would be yes, as it continues to lose customers every single quarter.While a Sprint/T-Mobile partnership was rumored this summer, the technology used between the two companies is incompatible. From a layman's perspective, it's precisely the problem that doomed the Sprint acquisition of Nextel. To this day, the brands still operate independently in many ways. That's been a death knell for the company, while larger competitor AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T) perfectly merged its network with the now-gone Cingular over a few years. Still, would T-Mobile really want to team up with Sprint? Only if Sprint jettisons the Nextel brand and network sometime in 2008.
Analyst Christopher Larsen with Credit Suisse makes a decent argument for Sprint and Nextel parting ways as soon as possible, citing the recent $3 billion fund raiser Sprint announced. Could an impending corporate divorce be in the works? Sprint has already written off tens of billions in the bungled Nextel merger, but it could raise over $7.5 billion by selling Nextel.
Still, with the third- and fourth-largest wireless players (Sprint and T-Mobile, respectively) ripe for consolidation, combining two very different networks better work if there's even a hint of a future combination between the two. But right now, that may be the only choice: Verizon Wireless and AT&T are kicking butt in the wireless market in the U.S.
High-dividend yield in a down market
Yesterday's announcement by Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) to cut but not eliminate its dividend payment got me wondering if there were other companies out there with absurdly high dividend yields that hadn't cut their payments. High-dividend yields are an old-fashioned way to look at companies and one that's fallen out of fashion as tech companies plowed their profits into research. But a 10% yield -- hey even a 7% yield -- is something we'd all be happy to find these days.
Traditionally, companies with high-dividend yields were those with low-growth potential, like utilities. Like Freddie, many of the current high-yield companies were created by a falling stock price. And like Freddie, they could always cut the dividend to keep the yield from getting out of whack. But, if they think the stock will rebound, maybe they won't cut it for fear the dividend cut would be yet another thing to drive off investors.
The highest yielding big company I found was Biovail (NYSE: BVF), Canada's biggest drug maker. The company was hit with an SEC complaint that key executives were lying about earnings. The company and the founder just settled a fight over the future direction of the company -- with the founder stepping aside. The stock, at about $10, has been cut in half in the last year. In May the company declared a quarterly dividend of 37.5 cents a share, which gives it a 15% yield at the current price.
Traditionally, companies with high-dividend yields were those with low-growth potential, like utilities. Like Freddie, many of the current high-yield companies were created by a falling stock price. And like Freddie, they could always cut the dividend to keep the yield from getting out of whack. But, if they think the stock will rebound, maybe they won't cut it for fear the dividend cut would be yet another thing to drive off investors.
The highest yielding big company I found was Biovail (NYSE: BVF), Canada's biggest drug maker. The company was hit with an SEC complaint that key executives were lying about earnings. The company and the founder just settled a fight over the future direction of the company -- with the founder stepping aside. The stock, at about $10, has been cut in half in the last year. In May the company declared a quarterly dividend of 37.5 cents a share, which gives it a 15% yield at the current price.
T-Mobile should settle text message lawsuit
T-Mobile is in legal hot water for allegedly failing to protect consumers from unwanted text messages. This is the last thing the German-owned telecom company needs.
The company, which has struggled for years to gain traction in the U.S., now must deal with a costly and potentially embarrassing class-action lawsuit. According to CNET.com, a federal judge has refused to throw the case out, which will force T-Mobile to shell out big bucks in a settlement.
Other telecom companies and consumer groups will watch the case closely. For one thing, text message costs are skyrocketing and show no signs of slowing. This is particularly galling since people pay for all incoming text messages.
"Since 2005, rates to send and receive text messages on all four major carrier networks have doubled from 10 cents to 20 cents per message," Slashdot.org noted recently. '"If the same pricing was applied on a per-byte basis to a single MP3 song download, it would set you back almost $24,000 according to one estimate."
T-Mobile appears particularly vulnerable to the suit since unlike other telecom companies it does not offer the ability to block all text messages though people do have access to filtering software. Consumers faced the choice of either leaving the carrier and paying a $175 termination fee or absorbing the costs, according to plaintiff's attorneys.
"This ruling is a big win for T-Mobile customers and we're looking forward to presenting our case to the court," said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman, the law firm representing plaintiffs, told RCRWireless.
No doubt the lawyers will get a nice payday as well.
The company, which has struggled for years to gain traction in the U.S., now must deal with a costly and potentially embarrassing class-action lawsuit. According to CNET.com, a federal judge has refused to throw the case out, which will force T-Mobile to shell out big bucks in a settlement.
Other telecom companies and consumer groups will watch the case closely. For one thing, text message costs are skyrocketing and show no signs of slowing. This is particularly galling since people pay for all incoming text messages.
"Since 2005, rates to send and receive text messages on all four major carrier networks have doubled from 10 cents to 20 cents per message," Slashdot.org noted recently. '"If the same pricing was applied on a per-byte basis to a single MP3 song download, it would set you back almost $24,000 according to one estimate."
T-Mobile appears particularly vulnerable to the suit since unlike other telecom companies it does not offer the ability to block all text messages though people do have access to filtering software. Consumers faced the choice of either leaving the carrier and paying a $175 termination fee or absorbing the costs, according to plaintiff's attorneys.
"This ruling is a big win for T-Mobile customers and we're looking forward to presenting our case to the court," said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman, the law firm representing plaintiffs, told RCRWireless.
No doubt the lawyers will get a nice payday as well.
Virgin Mobile buys Helio for chump change
I've seen it many times: a cool product that finds few customers. That seems to be the case with Helio's mobile phones. Basically, customers didn't want to pay premium prices for such things as access to MySpace and other new-fangled features.
It's a tough lesson (and expensive). SK Telecom and EarthLink (NASDAQ: ELNK) formed Helio as a joint venture in 2005 with start-up capital of $440 million. SK Telecom invested an additional $270 million in the venture last year.
Yet, in the end, Helio turned out to be a big dud. That is, the company sold out for a measly $39 million to Virgin Mobile USA (NYSE: VM). In fact, the space is full of dead companies, such as Disney Mobile and Amp'd Mobile.
I had a chance to interview Frank Dickson, the co-founder and chief research officer of MultiMedia Intelligence. According to him:
Honestly, the merger is a desperate move. Overall, the MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) model makes sense in a limited number of situations. For example, if a cable MSO wants to leverage its customer base and offer triple or quadruple play offering, there is a clear distinctive competency and the MVNO route makes sense.
A Virgin Mobile-Helio hookup?
Since its IPO last year, the shares of Virgin Mobile USA Inc. (NYSE: VM) have imploded -- going from $15.69 to a low of $1.90. The stock has lifted somewhat lately though, and is now trading at $3.43.
Actually, the company has confirmed that it is talking with Helio -- majority owned by SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) -- about a possible merger.
Both companies are known as mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), which means that they provide cell services by using another carrier's infrastructure. Unfortunately, the MVNO model has been extremely difficult to pull off (in fact, there have been several high-profile blow-ups in the space, such as Amp'd).
So will a combination help things?
To get some perspective on things, I had a chance to interview Frank Dickson, who is the Chief Research Officer at MultiMedia Intelligence. According to him:
Closing Bell: Oil surge drowns equities
Maybe it was tightening bank standards, maybe it was strong business orders for the services sector. Or, maybe it was a big hike in oil prices back to the $120 mark. Stocks took it on the chin today. Below are the unofficial closes for the major US index readings:
- DJIA 12,968.97 (-89.23; -0.68%)
- S&P500 1,407.48 (-6.42; -0.45%)
- NASDAQ 2,464.12 (-12.87; -0.52%)
- 10YR-TBond 3.845% (unch.)
- 52-WEEK LOW CLUB
Goldman Earnings Sink After Buffett Dividend
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Burberry Shares Leap on Sales Update
