On Thursday the FCC wrote a letter to AT&T stating that the carrier failed to submit enough information detailing how it will create jobs in the United States, should its planned acquisition of T-Mobile USA be approved. AT&T responded to the letter said said it “is aware that the Commission has requested additional information about the job related effects of the transaction,” noting that it “intends to respond fully to that request.” The carrier highlighted the following information, which reiterates its promise to keep AT&T and T-Mobile jobs and bring 5,000 call center jobs back to the United States:

In the process, the merger will spur billions of dollars in additional investment, create thousands of jobs, and significantly narrow the digital divide while advancing the Administration’s rural broadband objectives – all of which will aid the nation’s economic recovery and future economic strength without the expenditure of public funds. On top of that, AT&T has made significant job commitments, including our commitment to make a job offer guarantee available to existing T-Mobile USA non-management employees, our commitment to retain the two companies’ U.S. call center employees, and our commitment to bring 5,000 call center jobs back to the U.S.

AT&T also said the merger will “unleash billions of dollars of investment in advanced mobile broadband technologies, provide LTE coverage to 55 million more Americans, and create thousands of jobs in one of the most challenging economic environments in modern history.”

Rick Kaplan, chief of the Federal Communication Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, sent a letter to AT&T on Thursday asking the carrier to clarify just how the proposed merger with T-Mobile USA will add jobs in the United States. “Our review of the information currently in our record suggests that AT&T’s responses on this issue remain incomplete,” Kaplan said. The FCC is giving AT&T until October 31st to address fully “all plans, analyses and reports discussing the creation or loss of jobs” if the merger is approved. AT&T must also disclose how many T-Mobile USA jobs will be eliminated and show how the merger will affect employment inside and outside of the United States during the next five years. AT&T CEO Randall L. Stephenson argued earlier this year that the proposed merger would be a “net job grower” in the United States. On August 31st, AT&T promised to bring 5,000 jobs back to the United States if the merger is approved, which was the same day the U.S. government filed a lawsuit in opposition of the deal. Read [PDF]

AT&T said on Wednesday that it promises to bring 5,000 of its outsourced call center jobs back to the United States if its proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA is approved by the FCC. AT&T also promised that it will not layoff any AT&T or T-Mobile call center employee who is employed at the time of the merger. In addition, AT&T will invest $8 billion in its U.S. infrastructure and the Economic Policy Institute has suggested that move could provide up to 96,000 new jobs. AT&T made its announcement hours before the United States Justice Department filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block the merger. “AT&T’s elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low- priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market,” the Justice Department said. AT&T responded and said that “there was no indication” from the DOJ that a lawsuit was being contemplated. “We remain confident that this merger is in the best interest of consumers and our country, and the facts will prevail in court,” AT&T Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel Wayne Watts said, noting that AT&T will continue to fight for the merger’s approval. Read on for the full press release from AT&T.

AT&T to Bring 5,000 Call Center Jobs Back to U.S. Following T-Mobile Merger Closing

Commits Merger Will Not Result in Job Losses for Existing U.S. Wireless Call Center Employees of T-Mobile and AT&T

Largest Return of Jobs by Any U.S. Company Since 2008

DALLAS, Aug. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) today committed that after closing its proposed merger with T-Mobile USA, it will bring back 5,000 wireless call center jobs to the United States that today are outsourced to other countries.

Today’s commitment results from AT&T developing detailed analysis focused specifically on identifying opportunities with the T-Mobile merger to bring good-paying wireless call center jobs back to the United States.

In addition to bringing jobs back, AT&T committed that the merger will not result in any job losses for U.S.-based wireless call center employees of T-Mobile USA or AT&T, who are on the payroll when the merger closes.

The 5,000 new wireless call center jobs at AT&T will offer among the nation’s most highly competitive wages and benefits. AT&T, which has not yet determined where in the U.S. the new jobs will be located, is the nation’s largest employer of full-time union employees and the only unionized major U.S. wireless carrier.

“At a time when many Americans are struggling and our economy faces significant challenges, we’re pleased that the T-Mobile merger allows us to bring 5,000 jobs back to the United States and significantly increase our investment here,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T Chairman and CEO. “This merger and today’s commitment are good for our employees, our customers and our country.”

Today’s announcement represents the largest commitment by an individual American company to bring jobs back to the U.S. since the economic crisis began in 2008.

Also, AT&T has committed as part of the T-Mobile merger to increase its U.S. infrastructure investment by more than $8 billion.  According to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute that was commissioned by the Communications Workers of America, AT&T’s increased investment is estimated to produce up to approximately 96,000 new U.S. jobs.

AT&T said today’s jobs commitment does not change its previous guidance on the expected overall merger synergies.

Beyond the jobs created, AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile USA provides a fast, efficient and certain solution to the impending exhaustion of wireless spectrum in many markets, which limits both companies’ ability to meet the ongoing explosive customer demand for mobile broadband. The uniquely complementary nature of AT&T and T-Mobile’s network assets will allow the combined company to add wireless network capacity – the functional equivalent of new spectrum – sooner than any other alternative.

This additional wireless network capacity will enable AT&T to offer better service — fewer dropped and blocked calls, and faster data speeds. Plus, the economic scale, additional spectrum and other benefits resulting from the merger will enable AT&T to deliver high-speed 4G LTE mobile broadband service to 97 percent of the U.S. population, or 55 million more Americans than it would without the merger. Reaching 97 percent of the population with LTE will create a much more extensive and robust mobile broadband platform that will fuel growth and investment throughout the country.

The benefits of the AT&T and T-Mobile merger have been recognized by numerous elected officials throughout the country, including 27 governors, more than 100 mayors, 11 state attorneys general, 79 Democratic Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and more than 150 chambers of commerce from 40 states, as well as a dozen labor unions and dozens of high-tech companies, such as Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo! and Oracle.

Wireless telcos in the United States are poised to invest as much as $53 billion in 4G wireless network technology and buildouts over the next five years, resulting in as much as $151 billion in gross domestic product growth. A new report from accounting and consulting firm Deloitte suggests that that 4G expansion by U.S. wireless companies could also create as many as 771,000 new jobs between 2012 and 2016. Deloitte sees $25 million as the minimum 4G investment from telecommunications companies over the next five years, resulting from a scenario where companies deploy 4G networks at a moderate pace and transition slowly from 3G to 4G. If Verizon Wireless’ current pace is any indication, this will likely not be the road major carriers will take with 4G rollouts. The firm believes as much as $53 billion will be spent, however, if U.S. carriers take a leadership roll by deploying 4G faster than carriers in other regions. “Investment in such a powerful form of communication contributes to the economic recovery and provides a job-creating engine for the future,” said Phil Asmundson, Deloitte vice chairman and U.S. media and telecommunications sector leader, in a statement. “The key to harnessing the potential benefits of 4G technology lies in America’s market-driven wireless sector, which encourages the emergence of innovative applications that spur productivity and could produce the same surge of innovation and demand we experienced during the 3G era.” Deloitte’s full press release follows below.

Deloitte: U.S. Could See $53 Billion in 4G Network Investments by 2016, Creating 771,000 New Jobs New 4G products and services could drive additional growth

NEW YORK, Aug 22, 2011 — A new Deloitte report states that wireless telecommunications companies in the United States could invest $25 to $53 billion in fourth generation cellular wireless networks (4G) between 2012 and 2016, triggering $73 to $151 billion in gross domestic product growth and creating 371,000 to 771,000 jobs.  Additional growth could occur as high-tech companies create new mobile broadband products and services, further changing the way people live, work and learn.

The Deloitte report, “The Impact of 4G Technology on Commercial Interactions, Economic Growth, and U.S. Competitiveness,” investigates the economic dynamics surrounding 4G technology and explains how the U.S. can maintain the global leadership position in mobile broadband innovation it won during the 3G era.

The $25 billion figure assumes a baseline scenario in which U.S. 4G deployment proceeds at a moderate pace and the transition from 3G to 4G extends to the middle of the decade. Under these conditions, U.S. firms are vulnerable to incursions by foreign competitors capitalizing on aggressive efforts in their home markets to deploy 4G networks and develop 4G-based devices and services.

The $53 billion figure assumes a scenario in which U.S. carriers invest more rapidly in 4G networks and start to produce popular 4G-based offerings before global competitors gain traction. In this scenario, the demand stimulated by new offerings justifies more network investment, setting off a virtuous cycle of investment and market response that positions the U.S. to retain its mobile broadband leadership.

“Investment in such a powerful form of communication contributes to the economic recovery and provides a job-creating engine for the future,” said Phil Asmundson, vice chairman and U.S. media and telecommunications sector leader, Deloitte LLP. “The key to harnessing the potential benefits of 4G technology lies in America’s market-driven wireless sector, which encourages the emergence of innovative applications that spur productivity and could produce the same surge of innovation and demand we experienced during the 3G era.”

Global Competition Should Spur U.S. Innovation and Investment

According to the report, more than 150 carriers in 60 countries are currently committed to 4G deployments and trials. South Korea, Sweden and China are examples of countries moving rapidly to reap the benefits of 4G technology.

Cloud Computing Accelerating 4G Capabilities

Rapid adoption of cloud computing further enables the U.S. to take full advantage of 4G’s potential impact by allowing developers and entrepreneurs to analyze the market’s response to new applications, content, solutions and business models – cheaper and quicker.

“Cloud computing will allow handheld devices to be more compact and efficient while making them tremendously more useful and powerful,” Asmundson said. “Applications, storage and computing power all can largely reside in the cloud, but only if connectivity is robust, reliable and secure. The benefits of 4G and cloud go beyond the telecom sector. Together, 4G and cloud technologies support the kind of entrepreneurial ecosystem that has made the United States a mobile broadband leader.”

The advent of high-performance wireless capacity, coupled with cloud infrastructure and other advances, is proliferating new offerings and capabilities that exceed what has been possible with 3G technology, the report notes. In addition to consumers, a variety of U.S. end-user industries, including nonprofit and government entities, are likely to use devices and services incorporating the capabilities of 4G technology to better serve their customers, patients, clients and students. This includes applications such as augmented reality for businesses, machine-to-machine technology involving the use of sensors and actuators and the development of smart highways.

4G Enabling Marginalized Groups

Deloitte’s report indicates that the deployment of 4G mobile broadband has special implications for certain disadvantaged markets including minority groups, rural communities and localities with limited access to full broadband connectivity, and some small businesses. The report explains how equipping these marginalized groups with 4G access helps move them further into the nation’s economic mainstream, thereby serving the public interest while boosting U.S. competitiveness.

Lessons from the 3G Revolution

Deloitte’s analysis emphasizes that America’s success in 3G was driven by entrepreneurial innovation. When the government auctioned large amounts of spectrum, removed spectrum caps limiting individual carriers’ spectrum holdings and permitted market forces to operate, private enterprise pursued new opportunities and a robust 3G ecosystem was born.

The FCC is moving to expand spectrum supply through a new incentive auction, but the report indicates that it will be difficult to keep pace with projected demand. Accordingly, there is a continuing need to find additional ways to make better use of available spectrum and to unlock additional spectrum.

Cisco announced on Tuesday that it will layoff 9% of its workforce, or 6,500 jobs, in an effort to boost profits. That figure is lower than original speculation that the company would cut 10,000 employees. Cisco made the move as part of an effort to cut $1 billion in annual costs while spurring profit growth, Bloomberg reported. 2,100 of the 6,500 employees have agreed to an early-retirement program. Additionally, Cisco plans to sell a Juarez, Mexico-based manufacturing facility to Foxconn. The move will transfer 5,000 workers elsewhere but will not result in job cuts. Earlier this year, the company laid-off 550 additional employees when it announced that it was killing off its Flip camera arm in an effort to restructure its consumer business.

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Steve Jobs will give the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote in San Francisco on June 7th, despite currently being on medical leave from the company. We expect that he’ll discuss Lion, the new iOS 5 operating system, and more. We’ll be reporting live from the event, which will be held at Moscone Center in San Francisco. It’s a little bit curious that news of Steve Jobs broke during the Microsoft Windows Phone Mango event.

UPDATE: GigaOm, the source of this report, has updated its post explaining that it accidentally reported information from last year’s WWDC press release thinking it was new. Apple has not announced that Steve Jobs will be at this year’s WWDC keynote.

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Finnish handset giant Nokia continues its restructuring in an effort to trim overhead and return to profitability. The BBC is reporting that the company will cut 4,000 jobs worldwide and jettison an additional 3,000 positions to Accenture — the consulting company set to manage the Symbian mobile operating system going forward. ”With this new focus, we also will face reductions in our workforce,” said Nokia’s CEO, Stephen Elop. ”This is a difficult reality, and we are working closely with our employees and partners to identify long-term re-employment programmes for the talented people of Nokia.” The proposed moves are scheduled to take place sometime in 2012.

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A report filed by Bloomberg paints a grim picture for Nokia Oyj workers the world over. With an announced and looming restructuring in the works, the publication writes that “a reduction in research and development activities is set to be announced by the end of the month” and that “as many as 6,000 jobs” could be cut. Back in February — just days before Mobile World Congress — the company’s new CEO, Stephen Elop, announced that Nokia would adopt Microsoft’s recently released Windows Phone operating system on future smartphones. The announcement also noted that the company would begin to sunset development, support, and research activities centered around the Symbian and MeeGo operating systems — the two mobile operating systems currently utilized by Nokia phones. This reduction in activity translates into a surplus of unneeded, full-time job positions. At the close of 2010, Nokia employed 58,642 people in its handset organisation — 16,134 work in research and development. The company has over 16,000 workers located in Finland, and accounts for just north of 2% of that country’s total gross domestic product.

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According one analyst, Apple’s revenues could grow 50% through the next two years, driven by the demand for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch apps. Forrester Research founder George Colony told Bloomberg that he believes Apple will soon be a $200 billion revenue company. “They’ll be bigger than IBM next year, and they’ll be bigger than HP the year after that,” Colony said. Bloomberg surveyed a number of analysts and the average prediction is that Apple’s sales will jump 54% this fiscal year to $100.3 billion, but Apple’s sales growth could fall to 18% in 2012. Colony believes Apple could face some roadblocks if Steve Jobs leaves his position as CEO, but also argues that Apple probably has enough products planned to last three or four years if Jobs does depart from his role. After that time, it may be hard for Apple to continue to update its product portfolio as often as it does. “Without Steve Jobs as the CEO, I think it will be much harder for them to do that,” Colony said. ”That would be a massive, massive hit to the valuation.”

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Durning the company’s iPad 2 event today, Apple announced the addition of an HDMI-out connector cable. The 30-pin dock connector to HDMI cable will support full mirrored output from your iPad 2, output video in full 1080p, support rotation, and cost just $39. The accessory also allows you to charge your device while connected. Apple also announced a new “Smart Cover” built by Apple specifically for the new iPad. The new cover (not a case) uses magnets to attach and auto-align itself to the iPad, adds minimal weight, and it has a micro-fiber lining to clean the screen. As an awesome little twist, the Smart Cover will automatically put your iPad to sleep when closed and it will wake the tablet when opened. Smart Covers will be available in polyurethane for $39 and leather for $69.

Read [Smart Covers] Read [HDMI]

According to the latest rumor, Apple CEO Steve Jobs will take the stage at the Yerba Buena Center tomorrow during his company’s highly anticipated iPad 2 event in San Francisco. Italian blog setteB.IT first reported that “reassuring information,” from an unnamed source indicated that Mr. Jobs will (in some capacity) help unveil Apple’s next iPad model. Several hours later, AllThingsD‘s Kara Swisher chimed in with a similar prognostication, writing that Steve Jobs is “definitely considering an appearance at its big iPad 2 event tomorrow.” The event kicks off tomorrow at 1:00PM ET (10:00AM PT). Be sure to keep it locked on BGR… we’ll be bringing you all the news as it happens.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

Read [setteB.IT] Read [AllThingsD]

Sir Steven of Cupertino? According to a report in The Telegraph on Tuesday, Steve Jobs was almost given an honorary knighthood in 2009. The legendary Apple founder and CEO was to be honored for introducing products such as the iPhone and iPod, which revolutionized the industry. “Apple has been the only major global company to create stunning consumer products because it has always taken design as the key component of everything it has produced,” British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said at the time. “No other CEO has consistently shown such a commitment.” But Jobs reportedly refused to speak at the Labour Party conference, and former Prime Minister Brown is said to have blocked the knighthood as a result. Jobs’ appearance at the conference would have been a major score for Brown, and according to the report, he took Jobs’ refusal personally.

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Uh oh, another Steve Jobs email? French Mac enthusiast site MacGeneration is reporting that it has obtained an email exchange between Steve Jobs and one if its readers about the discontinuation of Apple’s Xserve server product line. The reader emailed into Steve Jobs asking why the Xserve stopped serving, and here is what Steve Jobs, apparently, replied with:

Hardly anyone was buying them.

Sent from my iPhone

Short and sweet, eh? It is said that Apple only sold around 10,000 Xserve units a quarter, according to some old Gartner published data. If you’re not giving up on Mac OS X Server, the Mac mini and Mac Pro make pretty great replacements, though nothing can fill the void of a rack-mounted server unit for some of you.

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For those of you not following the Apple earnings-call soap opera, let us give you a brief recap. Yesterday, during the Cupertino company’s Q4 conference call, CEO Steve Jobs joined the broadcast to speak with investors — an uncommon but not unprecedented move. Jobs then began to take questions and throw verbal jabs at several industry players including Google, application maker TweetDeck, HTC, Motorola, and Research In Motion.

Google’s Andy Rubin responded to Jobs’ claim that Android’s “openness” was slang for “fragmented” with a comical tweet, as did TweetDeck founder Iain Dodsworth; Jobs insinuated that developing TweetDeck for Android was a “nightmare” due to the platform’s fragmentation. Motorola and HTC, who Jobs called out for “skinning” Android, have — up to this point — kept quiet. Who’s left? Research In Motion.

Mr. Jobs noted that Apple sold 14.1 million iPhones in its Q4 which was far more than RIM’s latest quarterly blowout of 12 million handsets. Having a flare for the dramatic, and – especially lately — not wanting to take any slack from Apple, RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie released a statement in response to Jobs’ innuendoes. Some key takeaways from Mr. Balsillie’s publishing: there are people who live both inside and outside of “Apple’s distortion field,” people care about Adobe’s Flash, and 7-inch tablets are cool. Hit the jump to see the full rant-rebuttal from RIM’s Jim Balsillie.

For those of us who live outside of Apple’s distortion field, we know that 7″ tablets will actually be a big portion of the market and we know that Adobe Flash support actually matters to customers who want a real web experience. We also know that while Apple’s attempt to control the ecosystem and maintain a closed platform may be good for Apple, developers want more options and customers want to fully access the overwhelming majority of web sites that use Flash. We think many customers are getting tired of being told what to think by Apple. And by the way, RIM has achieved record shipments for five consecutive quarters and recently shared guidance of 13.8 – 14.4 million BlackBerry smartphones for the current quarter. Apple’s preference to compare its September-ending quarter with RIM’s August-ending quarter doesn’t tell the whole story because it doesn’t take into account that industry demand in September is typically stronger than summer months, nor does it explain why Apple only shipped 8.4 million devices in its prior quarter and whether Apple’s Q4 results were padded by unfulfilled Q3 customer demand and channel orders. As usual, whether the subject is antennas, Flash or shipments, there is more to the story and sooner or later, even people inside the distortion field will begin to resent being told half a story.

- Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO at Research In Motion (RIM)

[Via CrackBerry]

This article totally gave me an excuse to write that headline… been saving it for years. Reuters is reporting that 77-year old Yoko Ono was quoted as saying, “don’t hold your breath,” when asked about the possibility of the Beatles catalog coming to the iTunes digital music store. Ono went on to say: “Steve Jobs has his own idea and he’s a brilliant guy, there’s just an element that we’re not very happy about, as people. We are holding out.” Ono is the widow of deceased Beatles front man John Lenon and owns twenty-five percent of the bands music library rights. Former Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Star, as well as George Harrison’s widow Olivia, comprise the other three-quarters of Apple Corps, the bands holding company. Looks like, for the time being, you’ll have to get your Beatles fix the old fashioned way. Any Fab Four fans out there, any favorite songs?

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