Years from now we'll probably look back on today's cell phone technology and marvel how primitive it all was. "Remember dropped calls?" we'll say -- along with "Remember DOS? "Tower Records?"
For the longest time AT&T Wireless spent a lot of ad dollars telling us they had 'more bars in more places' -- which turned out to be quite true for Tijuana -- not so much for our phones. The ads were more apsirational than fact-based.
AT&T is working a new aspirational angle by asking us to 're-think the possibilities' with the giant telecom's intention to bond with the much smaller T-Mobile for $39 billion. If it goes through, will they have T-Mobile's skirt-flouncing brunette bouncing an AT&T globe in the new TV ads?
Keep in mind the AT&T and T-Mobile merger isn't happening just yet. The Dept. of Justice is suggesting AT&T should re-think their re-thinking because DOJ thinks such a take-over is un-thinkable. Diminished competition, higher consumer cost, blah, blah, blah. Of course, AT&T is not going down without a fight. If the deal doesn't go through, AT&T will be forced to pay a breakup fee to T-Mobile worth at least $4 billion. In the porous world of entertainment contracts, this is called 'pay-or-play.'
If AT&T is your carrier, chances are you really want this merger to go through. It's got to work better than AT&T does now. Imagine a time when you don't have to go outside, point your phone up and hope to get reception.
Of course you can always switch phone carriers -- long as you don't mind breaking your indentured 2-year contract and the hefty penalty cost. No?
How about an Occupy AT&T event? (For older folks, this is what you used to call a sit-in.) No, winter is here. Too cold.
Wait! How about this: a cell-out. All phones off -- not just in vibrate mode but OFF! No outgoing or incoming mobile calls for 24 hours especially in elevators and cars. You think?
The question is: Will it have any effect on AT&T? Well, sometimes you have to be silent to be heard.
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