AT&T buys Dobson Communications for a cool $2.8 billion
by Sean Cooper 
posted Jun 29th 2007 at 8:20PM
Seems while everybody in the US was lining up to buy an iPhone from AT&T, it was just finishing some spending of its own, namely the purchase of Dobson Communications -- operating as Cellular One. AT&T dropped $2.8 billion for Dobson plus assumed its debt which knocks the total up to the $5.1 billion mark, not chump change. The buyout of will pad AT&T's subscriber list with an additional 1.7 million users -- perhaps even lifting them to number one (if they weren't already) in wireless subscribers. Not a bad bit of business for AT&T, now we know where the ridiculous loads of cash from iPhone sales will go. No news on dates, but we will likely hear more in the coming days.[Thanks, Eric]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jack @ Feb 5th 2008 2:40PM
at&t took over callular one when are we going to get better service in our area so we can use are phones at home? 15 miles south of superior wi 54880 about 5 miles from a tower on hy b things were going to get better (WHEN)
kurt @ Jul 26th 2008 3:12PM
Sarah....Is your mom's name Michele?
Donald @ Jun 29th 2007 9:24PM
The big thing is the boost this gives to at&t's mobile coverage in the midwest, not the customer count.
ShortFuse @ Jun 29th 2007 10:18PM
The previous report that verizon passed at&t in number of subscribers was false. It was proven false in the comment system. Them the post was slightly modified to say verizon only passed at&t in direct retail amount. Now you're back to the false claim that at&t doesn't have the most subscribers. Way to go guys.
Dipset @ Jun 30th 2007 2:04AM
My store personally added about 60 new subscribers today with the iphone alone.
Robbie @ Jun 30th 2007 5:28PM
its very close. so i dont discredit them for their posts. its very neck and neck. are carriers including only active subs? are they including mvno subs that are still in their systems and probably hard to weed out? who knows how accurate numbers are and if both companies are even reporting with the same type of accounts in their figures.
Erik @ Jun 29th 2007 10:32PM
Huzzah for Alaska! We get to join the real world in one more way!
Erik @ Jun 30th 2007 4:36PM
Well, actually we kind of have to go to AT&T. Since most Alaskans are already on Cellular One, it'll just be a shift (I think all our cell communication was made on AT&T towers already).
But yeah, I'm not actually in Alaska right now, so hopefully I'll miss the Dairy Queen craziness.
On the bright side, AT&T has a lot more phone selection than we do (did) as Cell One.
Sarah @ Oct 3rd 2007 9:43PM
UGH!!!!!!! I HATE AT&T!!!!!!!!!!! THEY BOUGHT OUT MY MOMS OFFICE!!!!!!!!!! SH EWORKED AT DOBSON....THE OWNERS NAME IS EVERET!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOW EVERYONE WHO WORKED AT DOBSON.......IF THEY DIDNT ALREADY QUIT...WILL LOOSE THEIR JOBS IN DECEMBER...THEY HAD OFFICES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY!!!!! I HATE HIM FOR SELLING IT...THEY HAD OFFERED MONEY B4 BUT HE HAS ALWAYS TURNED IT DOWN! I AM SO FREAKIN MAD! I DONT HAVE A CELL PHONE YET BUT I TOLD MY DADDY WHEN I GET ONE IN MAY I DONT WANT IT TO BE AT&T I WANT IT TO B VERIZON WIRELESS!
DONT BUY AT&T THE IPHONE BILL IS OUTRAGEOUS! THEY SEND IT IN A STUPID BOX INSTEAD OF A ENVOLOPE LIKE CINGULAR DID IT AND WHEN THEY SEND U THE BILL IT HAS WAT SITE U WERE ON, WAT TIME U WERE ON IT...HOW LONG U WERE ON IT AND EVERYTHING! THEY HAD WHO U CALLED WAT TIME U CALLED OR WAT TIME THEY CALLED AND HOW LONG U WERE ON THE PHONE AND WHAT TIME U TEXTED PPL WAT TIME U GOT THE TEXT..ITS RIDICULOUS PPL!!!!!!!!!!!!
UGH I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOO MAAD AT EVERTET AND AT AT&T!!!!!!!!!!!!!
O AND ON TOP OF ALL THAT MY MOM IS SINGLE!!!!!
PLEASE WISH US LUCK! I PRAY EVERYNIGHT THAT NOTHING BAD WILL HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO CINGULAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Evan @ Oct 10th 2007 8:22PM
Everett Dobson and the other officers at Dobson Communications had to do what is necessary to stay competitive. If Dobson wasn't sold to AT&T they would eventually have been run out of business and thus your mother would have lost her job anyway. It was the right financial decision to make, in the interest of Everett.
Michael @ Jan 23rd 2008 8:34PM
Cingular is AT&T, you dumbass!
kurt @ Jul 26th 2008 3:16PM
Sarah....Is your mom Michele?
Jennifer @ Dec 6th 2007 5:15PM
I'm very curious to see how this plays out in Alaska... its been talked about for sometime... the differences in national & state plan rates as well as connections throughout the state...