Leap Wireless Rimmed by AT&T

     No more contract, no more contracts, no more contracts.

     Done.

     Buying a phone used to be a long thought process, because you had to be stuck with it for the next year or two.  By then, the phone looked like a big, dirty rock in your pocket.

     Now, the big names are turning toward NO CONTRACT.  Cricket Wireless made the bar drop.  The trend made AT&T and T-Mobile reverse their product lines.  Verizon, too.  They had to figure out where the money would come in at.  INSTALLMENT PAYMENTS.

                    “Chances are that the carriers will still make some money on hardware sales. They buy in bulk and would get discounts. Reselling for list price will possibly let them make more money than they used to. Consumers will likely look for cheaper phone retailers and just get the service without the need for new hardware (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505124_162-57593983/cheaper-mobile-is-coming-at-a-price/).”

     In order for AT&T to catch the trend they just purchased the parent company of Cricket Wireless.  The lesser company was in competition with MetroPCS.  Their sales were spectrum in terms of city to city.  New customer sprang from lower prices and no burden of one and two year contracts.   AT&T didn’t view the parent company of Cricket, Leap Wireless as a threat at all.  The companies had different products. 

     AT&T announced their intentions to buy Leap Wireless for a nice $1.2 billion.  Those little cheap, lime green buildings are worth $1.2 billion, now.  Only in America.  If you knew so, your stocks just took a 112% leap, recently.  Very nice.

     Why?  You could ask this question.

                    “This not only improves our spectrum position, it advances our offerings in prepaid service,” says Brad Burns, a spokesman for AT&T. “We’ll make the prepaid market more competitive. Leap’s customers will be able to ride on our fast LTE network.” AT&T will win even more spectrum with the deal in the densely populated areas where it’s having difficulty meeting current demand (http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-07-15/at-and-t-buys-leap-for-spectrum-gets-low-paying-customers).”

     Spectrum is the name of the game.  Having vast amounts of spectrum is the key.  Spectrum is the most valuable resource in the mobile phone industry.  Who wants a phone where the calls drop, and you miss messages, etc.  AT&T will have to reinvent their product line on a small level.

     T-mobile on the other pink hand has sucked up MetroPCS. 

                    “The merger was announced in October 2012. According to the proposal, T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom, will pay $1.5 billion in cash for a 74 percent stake in the company. MetroPCS's shareholders will own the other 26 percent of the combined company. The new company will be called T-Mobile.  Unlike AT&T's proposed $39 billion bid to acquire T-Mobile in 2011, this merger has had a relatively smooth ride through the regulatory approval process. Last week, the Justice Department allowed a critical waiting period required under antitrust law to lapse, effectively signaling its support for the merger. The Justice Department's statement today simply means that the agency did not find any reason to block the merger due to antitrust concerns.  And the FCC has now given its official stamp of approval, effectively stating that the merger is within the public interest. The agency will now allow the transfer of wireless licenses as part of the deal. (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57573867-38/feds-approve-t-mobile-merger-with-metropcs/)”

     Awesome, no more contracts.  It isn’t going to hurt anymore.  You can cut your cell phone bills and worries without missing all the new technology.