re: AT&T to Acquire Leap Wireless for $1.19BMy guess is that the US regulators will see AT&T's buy of Leap as a spectrum purchase more so than the combining of two competitors. In that respect, it's akin to Verizon's cable SpectrumCo deal, and it should be easier to get approval than it was with T-Mobile.
What this means for competition and pricing, however, remains to be played out. The LTE data price war that T-Mobile and Sprint are already kickstarting could end up being good for consumers.
re: AT&T to Acquire Leap Wireless for $1.19BIf they are not acquired, it will be very hard for them to compete, I imagine. The market is bifurcating between the high end and the low end where a lot of these new value-oriented MVNOs also are. Players like US Cellular that are stuck in the middle will be hurt the most.
re: AT&T to Acquire Leap Wireless for $1.19BI think the M&A activity in the telecom sector still has some legs. I expect US Cellular (USM), nTelos (NTLS) and C-Spire Wireless (privately held) to all be acquired in the next 36 months or so. Perhaps Atlantic Tele-Network (ATNI) as well.
re: AT&T to Acquire Leap Wireless for $1.19BAs an outsider looking in on the US comms services landscape, it seems there's a lot of service provider consolidation going on that's going to impact competition.... how much further can this M&A process go before the federal authorities call a halt?
re: AT&T to Acquire Leap Wireless for $1.19BI'm thinking AT&T wanted to make an offer before T-Mobile and Sprint do the same. This doesn't mean the others won't bid.
re: AT&T to Acquire Leap Wireless for $1.19BNo kidding! I wonder how the FCC/DOJ will view this one. I think it'll be easier than with T-Mobile, but certainly not a sure thing.
What this means for competition and pricing, however, remains to be played out. The LTE data price war that T-Mobile and Sprint are already kickstarting could end up being good for consumers.