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1. Comment - Former AT&T Customers Sue Cingular

   (Jul 8, 2006 - 12:25 PM)

   The argument of having to buy a new phone and pay the $18 fee is bogus. Even Cingular TDMA customers have to do that to upgrade from the dying technology to the newer GSM technology.
   
   I believe AT&T was also working on upgrading their network, and customers would've had to pay a similar upgrade fee and the cost of a new phone (whether it's a free one or a feature-loaded one that costs $$) eventually.
   
   If the comment about AT&T Wireless on the verge of bankruptcy is true, then those in the class action suit need to start thinking to themselves.. If Cingular didn't buy AT&T Wireless, then they may have been forced to choose another carrier and pay activation fees, new phones, new services, etc. But Cingular kept the company out of the water, and is offering the customers a chance to upgrade and move over to the newer network.
   
   Mergers have consequences and the faster than expected TDMA shutdown is one of them. Cingular was way ahead of AT&T at the time of merger in the upgrade to GSM. But the pro about the merger is a bigger, better, more reliable network. Cingular can now upgrade the AT&T TDMA towers to Cingular GSM towers to provide more coverage without having to seek local municipal approval to construct a tower in so-and-so's backyard.
   
   The only way I see a lawsuit valid is if Cingular actually was charging AT&T customers an early termination fee along with an upgrade fee to switch over to Cingular plans.