T-Mobile deal an economic boost for Puget Sound area - The Seattle Times [awgadget.blogspot.com]
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T-Mobile USA finally found a dance partner.
The Bellevue wireless company confirmed Wednesday that it's merging with Dallas-based MetroPCS in a deal that will speed T-Mobile's rollout of a high-speed 4G LTE network and strengthen the bargain section of the wireless market.
It will take a few years to see whether the merged company's subscriber count overtakes Sprint and poses a major challenge to AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
T-Mobile customers won't be affected much, other than quicker access to a wider LTE network after the deal closes sometime next year. MetroPCS customers will be encouraged to migrate to T-Mobile's network by the end of 2015, which will enable the merged company to use the same underlying network technology.
But in the meantime a tremendous change will take place in the Puget Sound region, where there's suddenly another giant public company. The merged company, with combined sales of $ 24.8 billion, will be headquartered in Bellevue and be publicly traded.
To put that in perspective, the company would be more than twice the size of Starbucks or Nordstrom by sales. It would be the state's fourth- largest public company behind Costco, Microsoft and Amazon.com.
"There's nothing about this deal that could possibly lead to us being other than a more prominent and significant employer and presence in the community," said T-Mobile Chief Executive John Legere, a telecom veteran who took the job last month. "Frankly, my desire is to raise the prominence of T-Mobile in Bellevue and Seattle. I think we're one of the best-kept secrets."
This won't replace the loss of Washington Mutual or Safeco, but it will help, especially since the deal solidifies the concentration of wireless employment in the region at a time when the industry's surging and â€" with LTE technology â€" building a new foundation for the technology industry.
The deal makes T-Mobile, a subsidiary of Germany's Deutsche Telekom (DT), a more autonomous, U.S.-based company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. That's a long-term enterprise and ends the uncertainty that hung over T-Mobile in recent years as DT shopped it around.
From this angle, the MetroPCS merger is a far better deal than last year's attempt to sell T-Mobile to AT&T, which would have shifted the corporate headquarters to Texas.
That's not to say there won't be some pain. T-Mobile is saying it expects to find $ 6 billion to $ 7 billion in cost savings through the merger with MetroPCS, which means there will be job cuts across the companies.
At the same time, the new T-Mobile believes it's positioned to grow and win a larger share of the U.S. wireless market, which would lead to continued expansion in Bellevue.
"This combination of T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS means we are here to compete," Deutsche Telekom Chief Executive Rene Obermann said on a conference call Wednesday morning. "We are here to unlock value and we are here to win. This deal has the potential to be a game changer."
Legere acknowledged there will be some job reductions, but the merger's cost savings will mostly be in lower network and capital expenses.
T-Mobile will be growing "very aggressively" over the next five years, he said, adding that "our philosophy is to retain as many people as we can and provide new career and growth opportunities."
Regulatory approval
The deal was announced Wednesday after it was approved by the boards of DT and MetroPCS. It still needs regulatory approval, but the companies believe it could be finalized in the first half of 2013. It's not likely to raise the same competition concerns as AT&T's attempt to acquire T-Mobile, which was scuttled after drawing antitrust scrutiny.
T-Mobile is the fourth-largest wireless carrier and MetroPCS is the fifth. Together they'll still trail third-place Sprint, but it's a much closer race.
The deal is structured as a recapitalization of MetroPCS, which is splitting its stock and paying its shareholders a one-time dividend of $ 1.5 billion, or about $ 4.09 per share. DT is getting 74 percent of MetroPCS common stock, rolling in $ 15 billion in debt and providing $ 500 million in revolving credit to the combined company. It's also providing a $ 5.5 billion backstop for previous deals made by MetroPCS.
Combined, the companies are expected to have 42.5 million subscribers this year and $ 6.3 billion of earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation. It's expecting to spend $ 4.2 billion on capital expenditures â€" mainly to build and extend its network â€" and have $ 2.1 billion in free cash flow.
Potential stock grants
T-Mobile's 36,000 employees, including 4,800 in the Puget Sound region, now may benefit from stock grants.
Legere said being public will enable the company to offer more competitive compensation programs to attract and retain employees. A plan for stock awards hasn't yet been formulated, but he favors the approach.
"We can use ownership in our company to motivate employees," he said in an interview.
Legere will lead the combined company, which will be called T-Mobile. J. Braxton Carter, vice chairman and chief financial officer of MetroPCS, will become CFO of T-Mobile.
T-Mobile and MetroPCS customers will be served separately, at least until MetroPCS customers are upgraded to T-Mobile's network by the end of 2015. Jim Alling, a Starbucks veteran and current chief operating officer of T-Mobile, will lead T-Mobile's customer unit while Thomas Keys, MetroPCS president, will lead MetroPCS's customer unit.
Bellevue headquarters
Although it will be headquartered in Bellevue, the combined company will "retain a significant presence" in Dallas, its release said.
In Wednesday's conference call, Legere said the merger will enhance T-Mobile's LTE development and provide particularly dense coverage in major metro areas such as New York and Los Angeles.
Addressing concerns about the different network technologies used by MetroPCS and T-Mobile, Legere said they will not attempt to mash the older, legacy networks together. Instead, they'll move MetroPCS customers using its older CDMA network onto T-Mobile's network as they renew and upgrade.
The networks' incompatibility would soon be moot anyway. Both companies were already shifting their networks and, eventually, customers to the same LTE technology that's becoming the new industry standard.
Legere said they expect "a rapid migration" to LTE "as part of the normal upgrade cycle."
Emphasis on value
As for its pricing strategy, the new T-Mobile plans to continue emphasizing value, with unlimited 4G plans. It also would be the largest provider of noncontract wireless phone services.
"We'll be able to deliver the best value across the board and that means in both contract and no-contract offerings," he said.
It's natural for this to happen here. The modern wireless industry was born in the area, with McCaw Cellular establishing the first national, roaming network in 1990. Two years later McCaw began selling the company to AT&T, beginning decades of megadeals involving the region's wireless companies.
That generated wealth and insight that led to the founding of Western Wireless in 1994. It spawned VoiceStream Wireless, which was sold to Deutsche Telekom in 2001.
Brier Dudley: 206-515-5687 or bdudley@seattletimes.com
Related T-Mobile deal an economic boost for Puget Sound area - The Seattle Times Topics Question by DeAira: Does anyone know anything about the reachout wireless "obama phone?"? Does anyone if the reachout wireless "obama phone" sends modern phones with like qwerty keyboards or touchscreens? Is there internet access? This would really help me out!! Do the phones have texting also? Please help me out! Best answer for Does anyone know anything about the reachout wireless "obama phone?"?:
Answer by Corvato
Obama's phone is a secured device, made by the company General Dynamics specifical becuase its secure not much more is known about it.
Answer by Robert
Hello, Reachout Wireless provides a free basic modern cell phone and up to 250 free cell phone minutes to eligible applicants. Reachout Wireless customers have the option of upgrading their free cell phone to more feature rich models by paying a fee. There is a large selection of phones that customers can choose from. You can even pay to get an iPhone or a high end Android phone. All free basic plans include limited text messaging plans, which deduct an allotted number of minutes per sent and received text message. Reachout Wireless does not include internet access in their free or paid plans. Another Lifeline cell phone carrier, Assurance Wireless, offers unlimited voice, text, and internet for $ 30 USD. I strongly recommend that you learn what Lifeline carriers provide service in your state and what their offerings are like before signing up. Best of luck, Rob
iPhone 4S vs. Samsung Galaxy S II Drop Test |www.squaretrade.com In this video, we test the iPhone 4S vs. the Samsung Galaxy S II to see which of these devices survives a waist high and shoulder high drop. PS We don't cover intentional damage like you see in the video.
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Answer by DryPaper
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Phone Reviews - HTC EVO 4G LTE for Sprint review.Twitter: twitter.com Tumblr: SummerWizz1.tumblr.com Facebook App bit.ly Facebook Page: on.fb.me Youtube Channel: youtube.com More Info / Source: www.engadget.com
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Well, look at that. Yesterday, we caught wind of a rumored Google buyout of Viewdle, a company that specializes in facial recognition technology. The whispers yesterday said that this acquisition could be announced by the end of the week, possibly as soon as today. Sure enough, Motorola announced its acquisition of Viewdle today, sealing the deal and boosting Google’s portfolio when it comes to facial recognition.
Motorola, of course, is owned by Google, and now so is Viewdle. We don’t have to think too hard to come with a potential use for Viewdle, as Google will likely want to use its technology in Google Plus and Android. Facebook is using facial recognition technology of its own to make tagging friends in images quicker, so it stands to reason that Google will do the same thing now that it has Viewdle at its disposal.
Of course, yesterday we also mentioned the potential uses in
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app5: Toggle for Windows Phone - #236Outro ft. www.youtube.com My Twitter - www.twitter.com Show Twitter - www.twitter.com Tumblr - alexhollings.tumblr.com Google + - http Surviving 2012
Americans should have no reasonable expectation of privacy over the location data stored by their mobile phone. That's according the Obama administrationâ€"which argued in a New Orleans court today that police should be allowed access to phone location ... The Supreme Court Needs To Weigh In on Warrantless Cell Phone Tracking by ...
We've argued before on these pages that Microsoft should build its own smartphones. The real money in the smartphone market doesn't come licensing an operating system, as Microsoft does with Windows Phone, or apps, as Google does on Android. It comes from building smartphones for $ 300 and selling them to carriers and consumers for $ 600.
Microsoft, however, went for the traditional licensing route with Windows Phone 7, and until recently, it looked like the company was sticking to the same formula for Windows Phone 8, with Samsung, HTC, and Nokia all unveiling forthcoming Windows Phone 8 devices.
But a number of rumors suggest that that may be changing. China Times, Boy Genius Report, and WPCentral are all claiming that Microsoft is working on its own high-end smartphone, to be sold with the same Surface branding as the company will use on its forthcoming tablets.
Taken together, the rumors say that the Microsoft smartphone will come out some time in 2013, and that the change in strategy is due either to Windows Phone's failure to acquire market share, or perhaps discontent at the way Nokia's "Lumia" brand appears to have gained better traction than the "Windows Phone" brand. The final decision to go ahead with the Surface phone will supposedly rest on the success (or otherwise) of the Windows Phone 8 handsets that will be released later this year (though exactly when they'll come out remains a mystery, due to Microsoft's continuing secrecy about the new operating system).
We can't speak to whether these rumors are true or not, but it's worth considering the implications they have if there is indeed a kernel of truth behind them. As supportive as we are of Microsoft building its own phones in general this seems like a bad way of doing it. We don't doubt that Redmond could produce a desirable piece of hardware, for example, something bringing the VaporMg finish to a smartphone. We're just struggling to see how it would improve Windows Phone's position in the market.
The Surface tablet makes sense for two reasons. First, because the PC market is awash with mediocre, poorly-designed machines, and Microsoft needed to ensure that there was at least one system that looked good and showed off Windows 8 at its best. The Surface tablets are flagship devices, something that Microsoft simply couldn't trust the OEMs to produce.
With the many weird Windows 8 devices shown at IFA in August it looks like Redmond's decision was probably a wise one, too; while there will certainly be some interesting designs hitting the market later this month, none of them really stood out as flagships.
Second, the PC OEMs have their backs against the wall. If they don't preinstall Windows on their systems, they're going to struggle to sell any PCs. Microsoft knows this, and it gives the company the ability to compete with the OEMs head-to-head without worrying too much that they'll drop out of the market altogether. That's just as well, too, because Microsoft needs those OEMs to provide volume shipments.
The smartphone market is in a different position.
Windows Phone has certainly struggled. The first iteration of the software, released almost two years ago, held promise, but lacked important features. The early hardware was nothing special, either, with non-descript phones that did little to stand out.
But things have, slowly, been heading in the right direction. Windows Phone 7.5 fixed most of the functional omissions of the operating system, and Nokia's devices have a certain visual flair, setting themselves apart from the plethora of black slabs that permeate the smartphone market. Market share is still lower than Microsoft and its partners would like, but it seems to be heading in the right direction: market research firm Kantar Worldpanel says that in the 12 weeks ending September 2nd, 2012, Windows Phone was taking 5 percent of sales in the EU's top five markets (Germany, UK, France, Italy, and Spain), up from 3.8 percent in the same period in 2011. This growth seems to be stimulated by Nokia's range of devices.
Windows Phone 8 is still something of an unknown quantity, but the fault here is all Microsoft's. What we do know is that, while Samsung's design, the ATIV S, doesn't buck any smartphone trends, the new Nokia Lumia 820 and 920 and HTC 8X and 8S are all strikingly different and good-looking handsets that will stand out in retail. Although Nokia's handling of the matter has been nothing if not back-handed (though Microsoft's software situation may have been a contributing factor here), the Lumia 920 also boasts a standout camera that will give it unique appeal.
So as best we can tell, the OEMs are doing their part, and doing it well. This isn't to say that the various handsets will fly off the shelves when they go on sale, necessarily, but they are at least very credible offerings. The Lumia 920, in particular, can stand as a genuine flagship device, and the HTC 8X shapes up pretty well too. If they don't sell, it won't be because they're under-specified, under-powered, or unattractive.
In other words, there's no need for Microsoft to come in with a "Surface Phone" to shake up the OEMs and force them to up their game. They've upped it themselves.
Second, the smartphone OEMs are not captive in the way PC OEMs are. Samsung could drop Windows Phone and it's unlikely that the dent it made on the company's sales figures would even be detectable. Android is the Korean firm's bread and butter. HTC's position isn't as strong as Samsung's, but it's still the case that its Windows Phone business is small beer. If Microsoft pushes these companies in a way they don't like, they can easily respond by dropping Windows Phone entirely, and in so doing, reducing its carrier and retail availability.
Nokia's situation is of course different. Publicly, at least, it has no plan B, no alternative should it wish to abandon Windows Phone. If Redmond decided to squeeze the Finnish company out of the market, it'd probably be the final nail in its coffin. While Microsoft would no doubt love to pick up Navteq on the cheap, it's hard to see just how such a move would improve Windows Phone's market positionâ€"it'd just put an end to the interest and recognition that is slowly growing.
Microsoft may be aggrieved that it's "Lumia" that people want, not "Windows Phone" but it's hardly surprising that Nokia has focused on its own branding, given the way "Windows Phone" is still routinely linked to "Windows Mobile" by retail personnel. Why would Nokia want to deliberately weigh down its own products by hanging that boat anchor on them? The brand name hardly matters to Redmond's revenue, anyway; Android is on plenty of smartphones, even if the brands that users care about are (Verizon's) Droid and (Samsung's) Galaxy. And it's not like hurting "Lumia" will mean that consumers ask for "Windows Phone" instead. It'll mean they just ask for "iPhone" or "Droid" or "Galaxy" in even larger numbers than they already do.
Unlike the Surface tablet, a Surface phone is unlikely to improve the quality of devices available on the market, and it's going to drive other OEMs away from Microsoft's operating system. In turn, this will further diminish Windows Phone's retail visibility and carrier connections. None of these things could possibly help Windows Phone.
Similarly, the things that do hurt Windows Phoneâ€"a persistent lack of both "big-name" applications (where is Instagram? Where is Angry Bird Space?) and "real world" applications (you can be sure that if a bank, retail store, or sports team has a smartphone application at all, then it will have an iOS version; it almost certainly won't have a Windows Phone one), weak advertising, limited in-store promotion, and, for Windows Phone 7.5, hardware that fares poorly in bullet-point spec comparisonsâ€"aren't in any way improved by the shipment of a Surface Phone.
A Surface Phone fixes nothing. On the contrary; the disruption a Surface Phone would cause to Nokia's name and carrier connections (outside the US) would tend to further diminish promotion and marketing of the platform, and make developers even more reluctant to gamble on it.
One possibility that might avoid these OEM and carrier difficulties would be a limited availability Surface Phone, similar to Google's various Nexus phones. That is, Surface Phone wouldn't be a mainstream, mass-market device, but a limited, unsubsidized option targeted especially at developers and enthusiasts.
But that doesn't make much sense for Microsoft. Google's situation with Android was different. First, Google needed to raise the Android hardware bar, which the Nexus 1 arguably did. Second, Google needed a range of handsets that it could guarantee had access to the latest version of unadulterated Android, to give developers something to target. The Windows Phone OEMs have done the former all on their own, and the OEMs and carriers simply can't alter the Windows Phone operating system the way Google OEMs and carriers can. While there have been delays and limitations in the availability of software upgrades, these limitations have been entirely under Microsoft's control, and in any case, the company promises that it'll be different (and better) with Windows Phone 8 anyway.
Windows Phone simply doesn't need a Nexus device.
When it comes to revenue, building its own hardware is still Microsoft's best long-term option. If the OEMs were being useless, if there were no name recognition or relationships around Windows Phone at all, then building its own phones would clearly be Microsoft's best short-term option, too. Similarly, if Windows Phone were so successful that entering the market wouldn't scare off Samsung, HTC, and Nokia, then building its own phones would be a good option for Redmond. And if it were still 2010, building its own phones would have let Redmond veto cheap materials and flimsy construction, and also ensure that Windows Phones weren't merely minor variants of existing Android models: it would have been an appealing option back then, too.
If, however, things remain on the trajectory they're currently on, with Windows Phone as a small, but growing, player, a Surface Phone would be a spectacularly bad idea. It would address none of the problems faced by Microsoft's operating system, and would nip the limited successes in the bud.
Peter Bright / Peter is a Microsoft Contributor at Ars. He also covers programming and software development, Web technology and browsers, and security. He is based in London, UK.
Recommend A Microsoft Phone: the wrong move at the wrong time for the wrong reasons - Ars Technica Issues Question by China Boy: How to say " test students through the phone " ? I want to list this kind of work in my resume... Is it right to say " Had tele-tests to students "?? Or you guys can help me to creat the better way of saying.? Best answer for How to say " test students through the phone " ?:
Answer by USAUSAUDA
I remotely administered tests to students over the telephone.
A&D Films - Give me the Phone!Dakota won't give Anthony the phone, and Anthony decides to over react.
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