AT&T and T-Mobile combination will boost bandwidth to better serve consumers

REMEMBER when mobile phones were the size of bricks and the stuff of Hollywood? Today, it doesn't really do justice to call them phones: They carry our music, photographs and videos, stream data and link us to the global economy.

But to take this incredible technology to its fullest potential, you need bandwidth. And that's what AT&T's acquisition of Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile subsidiary is really all about: expanding mobile broadband to the greatest number of people in the shortest length of time. For me, this is important to my bottom line. I'm expanding my business across the United States, and mobile broadband is a major reason why this growth is possible.

Ombrella, which is also located in Quincy, Grant County, helps local businesses plan and execute their ideas, and we're expanding to rural areas of Texas. I need to be able to communicate with my employees anywhere, anytime, quickly and efficiently.

What's more, our clients need high-speed Internet to fully innovate. I know firsthand the thirst for technology in our rural areas. As a software engineer and Wenatchee native, I have seen the global economy reshape how we grow and market agricultural products, and what that means for jobs in our state.

The transaction allows AT&T to expand the next generation of mobile broadband to 97 percent of the U.S. population. Here in Washington, the acquisition would roll out the latest Long Term Evolution technology throughout the state, especially in rural places hit hard by the Great Recession. As President Obama noted in his State of the Union address, broadband means economic development, giving entrepreneurs an equal opportunity to engage in the international exchange of ideas.

Because T-Mobile and AT&T have compatible spectrum positions and networks, the consumer benefits of this transaction will be realized faster and more seamlessly than would be possible with other industry combinations. That's good news for families and businesses like mine.

After the acquisition, competition in the wireless industry will certainly remain hot, with local, regional and national carriers jockeying for your dollars. Serving the American consumer is a tough business, and one that Deutsche Telekom no longer wanted to be in. The blogs and trade press were flush with rumors about pending deals regarding T-Mobile's future before the deal was announced, and most of that speculation focused on which company would purchase T-Mobile.

The fact that T-Mobile was sold comes as no real surprise — evolution is the only constant in the telecommunications industry. But in almost every merger over the past decade, some observers worried that prices would rise, but in every case, the opposite came true.

Through all the deals — Cingular-AT&T Wireless, Sprint-Nextel, Verizon-Rural Cellular Corporation, Verizon-Alltel — consumer groups warned that competition would be dulled and prices would rise. In fact, competition has only grown fiercer, while prices for voice, messaging and data have fallen steeply. And if we're talking about local roots, let's not forget that AT&T's heritage includes many Northwest connections, including the former McCaw Cellular Communications.

As with any merger or acquisition involving large companies, oversight issues will be raised. That's appropriate. But for my business and thousands of others, the AT&T deal with T-Mobile means families and businesses benefit from faster rollout of technology that means the difference between profits and losses, hiring and layoffs. We need the fullest benefits of a technology that moves so fast it makes talking into a brick look like the Stone Age.