AT&T, DirecTV Extend Merger Deadline Date AT&T and DirecTV have extended their predicted deadline for closure of the companies' $49 billion merger. In an 8K filed with the SEC the companies say they're extending the termination date of their merger agreement "for a short period of time to facilitate obtaining final regulatory approval required to close the merger."

Both the DOJ and FCC are finishing up their reviews and are widely expected to approve the deal, though they're receiving pressure from companies like Netflix and Cogent to include some anti-competitive protections in case the FCC's neutrality rules get defeated in court. AT&T, meanwhile, has promised to expand fiber to the home "Gigapower" service to an additional 2 million households if regulators sign off on the deal. AT&T says that the new company's larger size will save AT&T programming negotiation costs, contributing to expanded broadband deployment.







News Jump California Defends Its Net Neutrality Law; AT&T's Traffic Up 20% Despite Data Traffic Actually Being Down; + more news Are The Comcast-Charter X1 Talks Dead In The Water?; AT&T May Offer Phone Plans With Ads For Discounts; + more news Europe's Top Court: Net Neutrality Rules Bar Zero Rating; ViacomCBS To Rebrand CBS All Access As Paramount+; + more news Verizon To Buy Reseller TracFone For $7B; 5G Not The Competitive Threat To Cable Many Thought It Would Be; + more news MS.Wants Records From AT&T On $300M Project; Google Fiber Outages In Austin, Houston, Other Texan Cities; + more news States With The Biggest Decreases In Speed; AT&T Hopes You'll Forget Its Fight Against Accurate Maps; + more news AT&T's CEO Has A Familiar $olution To US Broadband Woes; EarthLink Files Suit Against Charter; + more news 5G Doesn't Live Up To Hype, AT&T's 5G Slower Than Its 4G; Cord-Cutting Now In 37% of Broadband Households; + more news FCC Cited False Broadband Data Despite Warnings; ZTE, Huawei Replacement Cost Is $1.87B, But Only $1B Allocated; + more Cogeco Rejects Altice USA's Atlantic Broadband Bid; AT&T Is Astroturfing The FCC In Support Of Trump Attack; + more news ---------------------- this week last week most discussed view:

topics flat nest

MDA

Auto Negotiating

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join:2013-09-10

Minneapolis, MN ·Comcast XFINITY

Netgear CM600

Asus RT-AC66U B1

MDA Premium Member Wait AT&T, i thought you said you were going to whine in a corner and stop spending on fiber if those neutrality rules passed.



Someone must have given you a good time last night or a big ol cookie because you're "generous" heart is willing to deploy 2 million more fiber deployments if you can marry that person.

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AT&T is the sophisticated little girl of telecommunications. Taget

join:2004-07-29 Taget Member Re: Wait Once upon a time they said they wouldn't deploy fire optics unless they could raise the cost of directory assistance and pay phones.



They've received direct cash payouts from the state and federal government, tax breaks, regulatory concessions. Most of the time whatever they wanted.



Face it. They are Lucy and we are Charlie Brown. We'll fall for it everytime and end up flat on our back wondering what happened.



Prediction. They shut down Directv and use the bandwidth for something else. And hardly anyone outside of a Google fiber territory gets "Gigapower."

MDA

Auto Negotiating

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join:2013-09-10

Minneapolis, MN MDA Premium Member Re: Wait "Good grief"...

ImpldConsent

Scouts Out

Premium Member

join:2001-03-04

Colorado Springs, CO ImpldConsent Premium Member Already merged? That paritially explains why ATT pushed so hard for me to switch from U-Verse TV to DirecTV (reduced my overall bill though). Proving that they can not only handle their products, but DirecTVs as well ... offering that to the DOJ and FCC. ke4pym

Premium Member

join:2004-07-24

Charlotte, NC ke4pym Premium Member Re: Already merged? said by ImpldConsent: That paritially explains why ATT pushed so hard for me to switch from U-Verse TV to DirecTV (reduced my overall bill though). Proving that they can not only handle their products, but DirecTVs as well ... offering that to the DOJ and FCC. DirecTV has had co-marketing agreements with AT&T and other telcos for a long time....

davidc502

join:2002-03-06

Mount Juliet, TN davidc502 Member This needs to be blocked This merger should be blocked just as much as the Comcast/TWC merger was.



AT&T, over time, just absorbed all the companies used to split the company up years ago.

Msradell

Premium Member

join:2008-12-25

Louisville, KY Msradell Premium Member Will it really get approved? David, you bring up a good point. Possibly the reason blocking of the other merger in the cable industry showed that the FCC/DOJ are being a little more diligent in reviewing this type of merger. Maybe for once they are looking at the problems it will cause consumer pricing if approved. I also really wonder how sincere AT&T is with committing to 2 million additional homes on fiber. It sounds good now but will actually come to fruition? mmay149q

Premium Member

join:2009-03-05

Dallas, TX mmay149q Premium Member Re: Will it really get approved? "I also really wonder how sincere AT&T is with committing to 2 million additional homes on fiber. It sounds good now but will actually come to fruition?"



Sure but it's only going to be added to 2 million homes that are brand new developments where fiber is already run into the neighborhood so all AT&T has to do is run it from the box to the house, worked for AT&T for 3 years, they made it very clear during those 3 years that they have NO interest in running miles of fiber or offering anything other than a solution over the copper networks they own that NEED to be decommissioned......

Harddrive

Proud American and Infidel since 1968.

Premium Member

join:2000-09-20

Mission, TX 1 recommendation Harddrive Premium Member AT&T, meanwhile, has promised... lol. Here we go again with AT&T's lies and subterfuge. Is there anyone out there that can't see through AT&T's shit any longer?

They rightfully deserve the name American Thugs & Thieves. mmay149q

Premium Member

join:2009-03-05

Dallas, TX mmay149q Premium Member Re: AT&T, meanwhile, has promised... "They rightfully deserve the name American Thugs & Thieves."



Oddly enough a Google Image Search brings up the first picture as an AT&T logo... Guess Google already knows XD

IowaCowboy

Supermarket Hero

Premium Member

join:2010-10-16

Springfield, MA IowaCowboy Premium Member Hopefully DirecTV will be offered as standalone product Hopefully they'll offer DirecTV as a standalone product in non AT&T areas. I don't want to be forced to have Comcast as the only option.

ham3843

join:2015-01-15

USA ham3843 Member DOJ DENY this merger! Unless AT&T guarantees that they will provide FTTH/B at a minimal speed of

25/5 for the ENTIRE existing copper fooprint by 2023 at a REASONABLE price for the minimum speed mentioned here (to be determined by a panel of consumer groups,

the company, and the DOJ) there should be NO merger of AT&T and DirecTV.

If they do agree to this AT&T MUST COMPLETE THE BUILD OUT BY 2023, if they fail they must pay for all costs to hire independent contractors to complete the original agreed upon plan by 2025.

itzalex

join:2015-02-14

Osage Beach, MO itzalex Member Re: DOJ DENY this merger! said by ham3843: Unless AT&T guarantees that they will provide FTTH/B at a minimal speed of

25/5 for the ENTIRE existing copper fooprint by 2023 at a REASONABLE price for the minimum speed mentioned here (to be determined by a panel of consumer groups,

the company, and the DOJ) there should be NO merger of AT&T and DirecTV.

If they do agree to this AT&T MUST COMPLETE THE BUILD OUT BY 2023, if they fail they must pay for all costs to hire independent contractors to complete the original agreed upon plan by 2025. Nicer than I would do it. That date would be January 2017 and verify all of the data because of their track record. If they don't well nail them with the records of all of their fed funding and submit data to DOJ for antitrust litigation with the rider of misappropriation of federal funds and bar from spectrum auctions (to include their surrogates). I've had enough of their BS since the sbc/att acquisition in 2006 with a blatant lies that they keep pushing about covering "100 percent" via wired connection.

ev

@rr.com ev to ham3843

Anon to ham3843

Copper is dead.

ham3843

join:2015-01-15

USA ham3843 Member Re: DOJ DENY this merger! said by ev : Copper is dead.

they build out FTTH/B over the existing copper footprint. Yes, I know like I said the only way AT&T should be able to merge with DirecTV is ifthey build out FTTH/B over the existing copper footprint. Taget

join:2004-07-29 1 edit Taget Member Doublepost . NObama

Premium Member

join:2005-11-09

Nashua, NH NObama Premium Member What difference does it make!?!?!?!!? Fool me once? Twice? Twenty times? I think they have to go through the ritual lying process, so when AT&T doesn't fulfill their promises, the FEDs can say "but they said they would this and this this". What a joke, and most people really don't care about these things, or don't even know enough to have an opinion. your comment..

