| Todd Allcock 2008-01-24, 3:33 pm |
| At 24 Jan 2008 12:51:22 -0700 Tinman wrote:
>
> We're not. It was Cingular at the time, particularly during the original
> negotiations. Heck, it was still Cingular when the iPhone was announced.
>
> So all of these "this is how at&t works" type posts are pointless IMO.
AT&T didn't acquire Cingular. It was simply a name change. Cingular was
owned by SBC (who bought and then assumed the name of AT&T, who by that
time was but a shadow of it's former self) and BellSouth. When "AT&T" (SBC)
merged with BellSouth, Cingular was rechristened "AT&T" with no material
change in operation. For all intents and purposes, "AT&T Mobility" (what
the company refers to it's wireless division internally) is the old Cingular,
unchanged but for it's name.
When I referred to "how AT&T works" I was referring to "The Artist Formerly
Known As Cingular." ;-)
RCR Wireless News, a cellular industry trade paper, has, since the name
change, been referring to the former Cingular as "AT&T Mobility" to avoid
confusion with "AT&T" (the former SBC/BellSouth landline telco) and "AT&T
Wireless" the old cell company spun off from the old AT&T and eventually
acquired by Cingular. Besides being the company's internal name for that
divison, it's easier to write and say than "the wireless division of AT&T."
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