Customers, employees, shareholders and taxpayers hate large corporations for many reasons. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a lengthy list of corporations for which there is substantial research data to choose the 10 most hated in America.
The list (in no particular order) features four technology companies:
For the record, I would add AOL, Google, Verizon, Samsung, and a host of others to the list.
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AT&T acquisition of T-Mobile USA increases the iPhone's potential marketshare even more
AT&T Inc. and Deutsche Telekom AG today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which AT&T will acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom in a cash-and-stock transaction currently valued at approximately $39 billion. The agreement has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies.
What does this mean for Apple and the iPhone? It means that AT&T just got a huge boost in their efforts of bringing their 4G LTE network to customers, adding 46.5 million more potential customers in the process. It also means AT&T gains a boat load of new towers that would have otherwise taken 5 years to build – and that’s great news for iPhone users! Speaking of the iPhone, Apple’s potential customer base just got a lot bigger.
Is there a down side to this deal? Yes. If you’re a happy T-Mobile customer who wanted nothing to do with AT&T, you’re out of luck.
UPDATE (3/21/11): The Q&A page on the news release at T-Mobile’s website had this to say:
T-Mobile USA remains an independent company. The acquisition is expected to be completed in approximately 12 months. We do not offer the iPhone. We offer cutting edge devices like the Samsung Galaxy S 4G and coming soon our new Sidekick 4G.
So it now appears that the iPhone will NOT be coming to T-Mobile customers after all. At least, not this year. But just like the Alltel acquisition by Verizon some years ago, I suspect everything will eventually fold under the AT&T brand, and that will probably mean iPhone availability.
Unfortunately it doesn’t interest me, and it shouldn’t interest you either.
Rumor has it Apple is prepping a lower cost iPhone
No, the cost of the iPhone is not the issue. It’s the cost of the plan that prevents me, and probably many of you, from owning an iPhone. With a minimum monthly fee of $70, probably hovering around $80 after taxes and other B.S. fees from AT&T, the iPhone is placed just out of reach of millions of potential buyers.
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