RIP AT&T
 

Who would have thought this day would ever come.

Rest In Peace Ma Bell. AT&T was once the Microsoft of the world with a full on monopoly on the entire phone system in the US. Amazing how things change.

$16 Billion seems like nothing compared to what that company used to be valued at.

NEW YORK - Local phone giant SBC Communications Inc. has agreed to acquire AT&T Corp. for roughly $16 billion in cash and stock, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

Damn..16 big ones... :thumbsup

wow , doesn't yahoo own sbc ?

16bil is nothing compared to what is would have been valued at in todays dollars if it wasn't broken up

i never used AT&T. i use my cell for long distance :thumbsup

VOIP is going to kill the long distance phone companies..

I don't know why but its kinda sad really. MS will die too its easy to see their mistakes if you are a big nerd. Wasn't it worth about 60 billion 4 years ago and own a major portion of lucent when it was 100 billion ish?

i don't follow blue chip stock these days - is that a good move or bad move for at&t stock holders?

I think that is an insult to AT&T. That was once one of the most powerful companies on the planet controlling the entire US telephone network. After the US Government came in and force the company to break up and regionalize out the local bells, it was all downhill after that.

:(

That is a surprise. I was just talking to a friend about when my parents bought their first phone. I remember thinking it was so cool because up til then your only option was the ultra generic Ma bell phones.

Incredible how times change

LOL yep, and you weren't allowed to own a phone, only lease them from who else? AT&T.

Ma Bell?
http://www.veninc.com/image/pwnt.gif

Cell phones have cut their company down to size.

VoIP is the next dagger in the heart of the traditional gouge hold on US consumers by the phone companies.

There are more cell phone lines in the world now than regular land lines. Last I heard it was over 1.5 billion cell phone customers worldwide.

VOIP will supplant paired wire, and mobile Wi-Fi will eventually take the place of cellular tech. The days of the communications monopolies are drawing to an end.

It's going to displace a lot of workers. We'll need to open a lot of new McDonald's.

You must be a younger person. Was not to many years ago that using a cell phone for alot of stuff would cost you an arm and a leg.


As for Voip and cell phone service killing the phone companies, I see that as doubtfull. SBC, MCI ect are pretty heavy in internet access and cell phone access. AT&T was just behind the times in laying down an upto date infrastructure.

Wow, that kinda freaks me out.

I get unlimited long distance, caller ID, call waiting, and voicemail all for less than 50 bux a month from SBC. I'm perfectly happy with that.

time to find a new way to exploit the changes that have been WRITTEN on the wall for the past 2 years...


snap snap fuckahs...





:winkwink: :thumbsup :thumbsup

actually screw the phone companies, they are too old fashioned in their approach towards todays demands. you should all look into what the cable companies are doing for telecom.

for example, cablevision is our local "monopoly" as a cable provider, so they also offer a telecom solution called Lightpath. not only does lightpath use their existing copper that cablevision already owns but lightpath also offers business solutions for companies ranging from voicemail to multiline phones and an assortment of other services.

cellular will never catch up to the speed that is provided by landlines. now will it ever be as secure either

This doesn't come as a surprise to me. We've had the Verizon freedom package (unlimited long distance, caller ID, call waiting, 3way calling etc etc) for $67/month for years now. Why would anyone choose to pay by the minute, when they can get unlimited? Long distance and regional calling used to add up FAST.

We also gave AT&T local service a try a few years ago. They still had to go through Verizon, so it wasn't any difference at all. Their customer support was horrible, your bill was always confusing and anytime you needed service, it had to be arranged through Verizon, so there was always a week lag just because you used AT&T as a middleman.

AT&T dominated the market for decades, yet they weren't innovative. They tried various packages, prices etc but never really tried anything that would secure their future. I don't feel sorry for their loss... they used to get 25 cents a minute or more for state to state calls... they had it all at one point, at our expense.

Wow, your right 16Billion doesnt sound like much for AT&T.
:(

thats a crazy ass sig

Not at all...

Yeah ditto, ditto.

I watched that for 5 minutes.

The next major shake up will be Bill Gates and his partners world wide low orbit satellites. The Teledesic system will provide global communication links via a constellation of 900 satellites that will take the place of the internet the way we know it now.

Definitely the way to go for the future along with everything going optical fiber and eventually 3 dimensional atom sized laser encoding which will take memory storage to unbelievable levels compared to today.

dont u just love that always useful hypocritical government. Also count on them to put their foot in whatever they want to

While it's sad to hear, it's also good to know.
Crazy changes are in store for the future. I'm sure some of the shit we cant even dream up as yet. Thumbs up for technology.