Threats to US Cellular Services & Personal Liberties?

We've been hearing a lot about smartphones - about security and tracking and receiving "the chip" - let's strive to preserve our rights as Americans and consumers and let our voices ring out through the cellular provider community.

Hover and click on the image to send email to your rep in DC, tweet against the merger, and/or contact the FCC!

Albany Times Union Business Writer LARRY RULISON ::: "Executives at AT&T have been working to convince business and political leaders -- as well as regulators -- that its $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile will be good for consumers in the state.

The campaign comes as rivals like Sprint have been running full-page ads declaring that the merger will drive up prices as AT&T and Verizon gain a stranglehold on the cellphone market.

But Hal Lenox, president of AT&T's New York operations, says that simply is not the case. He says the merger will more quickly bring broadband Internet services to rural areas of the state like the Southern Tier and the Adirondacks, while likely driving down prices." |more|

I disagree. YOU CAN TOO! There's still time to use your voice to stop this from happening.

Acquiring T-Mobile won't increase AT&T's geographic reach - the networks almost entirely overlap. T-Mobile is the most spectrum-constrained of any nationwide carrier. AT&T already has ample spectrum, holding on average more than 40 MHz of prime broadband-capable 700 MHz, AWS and WCS spectrum that has yet to be built out.

Sprint already swallowed up NexTel and Virgin Mobile. If anything, the US needs more competition. And that's not a bad thing. In many countries, ther are three or four competing carriers - they do so well that people who carry phones have THREE numbers - one with each different service! Keep in mind these are LOADED phones (what we call prepaid) - and in several third world countries, every man, woman and child carries a smartphone!

The proposed takeover will eliminate stores, jobs, back offices and marketing spending. This is not only a loss of jobs for T-Mobile and AT&T workers, but for every business with ties to the wireless telecoms industry.