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AT&T said it would take a $4 billion charge in the final quarter, the value of a breakup fee and spectrum assets possibly owed Deutsche Telekom, an acknowledgment that the company's proposed takeover of T-Mobile faces an increasingly uphill battle.

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission will request an administrative hearing on the proposed $39 billion acquisition... The decision by the chairman, Julius Genachowski, puts a second large roadblock in front of AT&T, the nation’s second-largest wireless phone company, in its effort to buy T-Mobile, the No. 4 carrier. In August, the Justice Department filed a federal antitrust lawsuit to block the merger, saying it would stifle competition.

AT&T pushed back the expected closing dates for its purchases of T-Mobile USA and a block of Qualcomm spectrum by as much as three months as it battles regulatory scrutiny.

Verizon's third-quarter profit more than doubled as the telecommunications giant reported improved margins and wireless-subscriber growth.

A document obtained by the ACLU shows for the first time how the four largest cellphone companies in the U.S. treat data about their subscribers' calls, text messages, Web surfing and approximate locations.

T-Mobile’s chief marketing officer Cole Brodman recently published a letter on the company’s official blog addressing customers and discussing the carrier’s view on the iPhone. At first glance, it reads like a simple breakdown as to why T-Mobile doesn’t offer the iPhone. Brodman’s explanation of T-Mobile’s current iPhone situation, however, also reads a bit like a plea to Apple.

Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris and six other state attorneys general join the Justice Department's antitrust suit, say the deal would result in less competition in the wireless market.

The Justice Department's move to block AT&T Inc. from buying
T-Mobile USA is motivated by the desire to keep a low-priced
competitor in the game. But that's a game T-Mobile is losing.

Verizon and Intuit announced Thursday that they are teaming up to introduce a mobile payment system that will let customers swipe their credit cards with their smartphones. Verizon will sell the Intuit Reader smartphone accessory in its retail stores. The Reader plugs into the audio jack of most Android phones, BlackBerrys, the iPhone and the iPad.
The product rollout is intended to make it easy for small-business owners and others to process mobile payments, likely boosting sales of smartphones.

The 45,000 land-line employees who have been on strike for two weeks will return to work Tuesday, though contract negotiations are ongoing. Thousands of striking Verizon telecom workers will return to work Tuesday, though their contract dispute isn't over yet.