As expected, the FCC today announced conditional approval of Cingular's $41 billion buyout of AT&T Wireless. Yesterday the Department Of Justice approved the deal, making the FCC the final hurdle.
As of this morning the merger is complete, with Cingular becoming the nation's largest wireless carrier. If you are a current customer of Cingular or AT&T Wireless, expect your service to improve:
Cingular will now start opening access to both the Cingular and AT&T Wireless GSM networks to further improve coverage, allowing customers of both companies to use the new, combined network without roaming charges. Customers also will have the ability to make unlimited mobile-to-mobile calls to any Cingular or AT&T Wireless customer.
Customers of both companies should not see any service interruption. Cingular set up a website, www.newcingular.com for the transition.