LEAK: T-MOBILE SUBSCRIBERS CAN KEEP PLANS AFTER ACQUISITION BY AT&T

According to a purported internal document obtained by TmoNews, T-Mobile customers will be able to keep their service plans indefinitely should AT&T’s acquisition of the carrier proceed. “T-Mobile customers will be able to keep their rate plans,” the internal FAQ reads. “They will be able to do so for as long as they want to, even when their terms end and the service continues on a month-to-moth basis.” The wording suggests that T-Mobile customers will be out of luck if they want to purchase a new subsidized phone under contract, however, though it does not state explicitly that new contracts will require customers to switch to a standard AT&T rate plan.

The United States Department of Justice (and other companies like Sprint) is suing to block the merger and in its filing, the DOJ states, “AT&T’s elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low- priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market.”