Now What Does Cingular Do With AT&T Wireless?
So, it’s looking like (despite some rumors to the contrary) the Cingular/AT&T Wireless deal really is going to go through, and suddenly people are realizing that this could be something of a mess. The two companies, both of whom haven’t had the greatest reputations lately, now have to integrate while make sure they don’t fall even farther behind their competitors when it comes to wireless data services. The article quotes our own Derek Kerton, noting that Cingular would be much better off focusing on the work AT&T Wireless has done in mobile data — which is likely, given that Cingular recently did a deal with DoCoMo to keep the relationship behind AT&T Wireless’ data services alive. The end result, though, is that if the new, larger Cingular realizes that it’s really falling far behind, expect to see the price war come back into fashion, as they make a last ditch effort to sign up more subscribers with the only weapon they have left: cheaper prices. This is, of course, a bit amusing, since one of the original reasons everyone thought that these carrier mergers would occur was to stop the ongoing price wars. So much for that plan.
