It sounds like more choice than there really is. The terms the offer their services under are pretty much identical. And they tend to focus on providing decent service in particular markets so as not to have to compete.

The big problem is that switching from one carrier to another isn't likely to make any difference as they're all pushers of similar abusive contracts. AT&T being somewhat worse that T-mobile for not offering a lower cost plan for people who pay for their own phones or don't insist on upgrading when the contract is up.

You should also take Boost off that list of available providers; Boost is actually Sprint/Nextel. Most of the prepay phone providers are not actually independent providers (like Boost) or are independents but use an existing phone network. Virgin Mobile is like that, they are independent, but they use the same Sprint/Nextel network that Boost uses.The only "real" mobile phone providers anywhere in this country are AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint. If AT&T gobbles up T-Mobile, there will only be three left and Sprint will be seriously hurting in the number 3 position.

I have to say that my AT&T reception is great. I get full bars everywhere...

...except, of course, in my own home. Apparently, service ends where my living room begins. :-(

I knew that Boost uses the Sprint network, I didn't realize that they were a part of Sprint/Nextel.

It amazes me how many people out there seem to buy into the assertions that there's plenty of competition and innovation going on. When really we have it pretty bad compared to much of the developed world.
Depends where you are, service around here is pants.

I wonder how this will affect those of us from the motherland.

I'm on Virgin at the moment, who use T-Mobile signal (I think).

I guess in this country we only really have 4 providers: Orange & T-Mobile (who have a signal sharing agreement which is a little more restrictive than they make out), O2 and Vodafone.

As far as I'm aware, only those 4 have a proper signal network, any others (Virgin, Tesco et al) use one of the above's network.

I doubt AT&T will be looking to expand T-Mobile's service here, it's more likely they'll either leave things as they stand, or attempt a merger with Orange. The former seems most likely.

They might also end up just selling the UK assets to somebody else. Although, this would give them a foothold into the UK, I don't think at present they have anything over there.

Interesting...

Well the UK/EU is a vast market for mobile phones, so there is potential to make money there.

I hope for your sake that it doesn't come to that. AT&T sucks hard enough that it's fully capable of destroying your telecom industry.

The competition here, along with better regulation than the US (although perhaps not good enough still) means that they shouldn't destroy anything.

I doubt they're going to be progressive though!

Seconded. My first choice when starting a cellular plan was Verizon, but they require a credit check, or else I pay a $400 start-up fee up front. As I had ZERO credit (which isn't the same as BAD credit, it just means I've never had a credit card or loan to build a credit record on), my best choice was T-Mobile.

IF AT&T continues with these mergers, they're going to head straight for another federal court-ordered corporate break-up. It'll be the third time, too. And T-Mobile customers still won't get the iPhone.

I have to wonder if this is a result of AT&T losing exclusivity on the iPhone. I know tons of people jumped ship to Verizon, despite some features (Like being able to text/browse web/etc) being unavailable on Verizon's network.

In any case, I use Sprint, so I'm safe for now :P

Yeah... sort a the point I made unclearly :-)

What good is my exceptional AT&T coverage if the one place it consistently fails me is in my own home.

I'm in my office typing this and if you called me, I.... then... hear... so... go to.... and once I get to the driveway, we'd be able to actually talk. It's like my house is made of cell phone blocking foam or something.

Oddly enough, I've had this problem in the last five apartments I've lived in.

I wonder if my wi-fi and all my assorted PCs and electronic crap is blocking my phone reception?

For me, minutes are practically a thing of the past. I mostly communicate through digital means, be it Skype, text message, Facebook message, or email (damn you AP Style for changing). If I could, I would get a cell phone plan where it would be pay-as-you-go minutes and unlimited 3G.

Bear in mind that I wasn't the initiator of my eventual switch to this method. Almost everyone I know prefers it if I text or Skype them, so I oblige.

My only gripe is the extremely limited control we have over these devices. The announcement that the Moto Droid X bootloader got broken happened just this week and that device has been out for some time. It sucks that I have no choice in device, even if I pay for my own I'll be locked into a high rate as if I had not and at all providers but T-Mobile, will be required to sign 2 year contract to get on. Pre-paid phones are never GSM around here so you can't swap in a SIM card for a nice phone.

I want the government to hammer these companies, they are extremely destructive to the marketplace.