Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Cingular changes name to AT&T
- Thread starter clevin
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It seemed they'd been hinting recently that this would come. It's funny how the circle winds around, isn't it?
yeah, first i subscribed to AT&T, the they changed name to cingular, now it gonna change back....
yeah, first i subscribed to AT&T, the they changed name to cingular, now it gonna change back....
I think I have a (small) amount of AT&T stock as well as I had the split off AT&T wireless stock. It's just funny how I keep getting, "Oh, we're spinning off," "Oh, we're merging!"
Although, to be honest, I think they would've been better off going with something like "Cingular by AT&T" and calling it Cingular and keeping the logo. I think the AT&T brandname has much poorer recognition in US cell phones than the Cingular one does. Plus that little orange guy is cuuute!
maybe the name change will help Cingular start afresh b/c of some of their past customer service problems. Hopefully everything is worked out by June!
Won't happen because AT&T Wireless was one of the worst services in the nation. It's a bad move to change the name. As much as you think they have had problems with customer service at Cingular, it's not that bad and generally pretty decent when compared to the other cellular providers. AT&T Wireless was god awful, people remember that, and won't like the name one bit.
Actually, Cingular won't become 'AT&T Wireless', but rather simply 'AT&T.' They've confirmed that there will be no 'AT&T Wireless' or 'AT&T Mobile.' They plan to bundle everything under one banner.
This whole merger mess is convoluded. For those of you without a headache, I'll try to sum it up for you. Let's see if I get this right...
Bellsouth and SBC started Cingular.
AT&T spun off AT&T Wireless.
SBC bought AT&T and adopted their name.
Cingular bought AT&T Wireless.
AT&T Bought Bellsouth and Cingular.
It's almost like an ouroboros.
ugh.
What's next? AT&T becomes a monopoly and gets split up by the government?
Oh. Really? Ma Bell? In the Early '80s? Nevermind then.
This whole merger mess is convoluded. For those of you without a headache, I'll try to sum it up for you. Let's see if I get this right...
Bellsouth and SBC started Cingular.
AT&T spun off AT&T Wireless.
SBC bought AT&T and adopted their name.
Cingular bought AT&T Wireless.
AT&T Bought Bellsouth and Cingular.
It's almost like an ouroboros.
ugh.
What's next? AT&T becomes a monopoly and gets split up by the government?
Oh. Really? Ma Bell? In the Early '80s? Nevermind then.
People is the US don't remember what happened last week. It has been so many years since Cingular bought AT&T Wireless that, for most, any bad experiences are long forgotten. Also, most old Cingular customers came from Southwestern Bell/CellularONE and BellSouth Mobility.
I am all confused.
So based on that one list up there. SBC owns cingular because they own AT&T. Who owns Cingular. do have I that corrected. Because a while ago I though I read in the paper that SBC owned Cingular.
So based on that one list up there. SBC owns cingular because they own AT&T. Who owns Cingular. do have I that corrected. Because a while ago I though I read in the paper that SBC owned Cingular.
Even shorter version...
Cingular initially started out as a joint venture between SBC and Bellsouth.
SBC bought AT&T & took their name.
Then, Cingular was a joint venture between the New AT&T and Bellsouith.
Finally, AT&T buys Bellsouth.
AT&T is now the sole owner of Cingular.
Cingular initially started out as a joint venture between SBC and Bellsouth.
SBC bought AT&T & took their name.
Then, Cingular was a joint venture between the New AT&T and Bellsouith.
Finally, AT&T buys Bellsouth.
AT&T is now the sole owner of Cingular.
This version neglects the fact that AWE (AT&T Wireless) was a separate company that was merged with Cingular.
It has been rumored that a big reason SBC bought/merged with AT&T was that AT&T had kept the AT&T Wireless brand to themselves as part of the Cingular/AWE deal so today's announcement has been in the wind for a while now.
B
You forgot this part...
Craig McCaw starts McCaw cellular
AT&T buys McCaw Cellular
A&T changes name of McCaw to AT&T Wireless
AT&T Wireless merges with Cingular and adopts Cingular name
SBC also bought PacBell and Ameritech (Indiana/Michigan/Ohio Bell)
That leaves, Bell Atlantic/Nynex, known as Verizon and Northwestern Bell, known as Qwest (?) and Cincinnati Bell as parts of the original that haven't become part of the conglomerate. The difference this time is that they all have local and long distance of their own. Is AT&T long distance still owned by the "real" AT&T?
Was it really that long ago? I was thinking it was only a year and a half ago or so. I remember it, but not exactly when it happened.
I agree it is a bad movie. Cingular has a much more posistive feel name wise than AT&T plus it is a hell of a lot easier to say.
This discussion is of wireless phones, not land lines. AT&T (the former Southwestern Bell Corporation) owns AT&T long distance. Verizon was formed when Bell Atlantic, having previously swallowed NYNEX, merged with GTE. It subsequently swallowed AT&T Long Lines's largest competitor, MCI (previously known as Worldcom).
I have to disagree. While a name change is always confusing for customers in the beginning, having a unified name is much more powerful and in a companies best interest for the long run.
...And I'm sure AT&T plans on eliminating any confusion with a multi-million dollar advertising plan.
PrimeCo was bought out by US Cellular.
around here cellular one was bought out by cingular. about 4 years ago or so at&t merged with cingular taking the cingular name. verizon bought out ameritech and voicestream was bought out by t-mobile.
personally around here at&t is much better then cingular, and my old customers will back me on that. i got out of the biz about the same time at&t was bought by cingular. i never had any problems with at&t.