AT&T if they are smart know that conservative federal judges will eventually give them the victory in the merger with T-mobile. If the merger does not go through they have to release 6 billion dollars that they have in escrow. Therefore, I am sure the legal battle they are most likely to win, would cost less than that. AT&T's LTE is 3 years away, Verizon LTE is already here. AT&T has not executed the business model as well as Verizon. Therefore, they have to buy T-mobile or start losing market-share. If they decide against the legal battle, then they have to use the 49 billion they have in cash to market well their iphone, network, while speeding up their LTE strategy. If the merger goes through, then prices will go up for the consumer, there will be less choices, and their network will improve slowly, but match the improvement T-Mobile has made in San Diego. If he merger does not go through: AT&T will have to look in the mirror: and begin to execute along the lines as Verizon. As well if the merger does not go through: look for AT&T to add a Verizon Wireless executive that can help them catch up on the operations side.