Briefcase

T-Mobile 3G users will need new phones

NEW YORK – AT&T Inc. said Monday that if its deal to buy T-Mobile USA goes through, T-Mobile subscribers with 3G phones will need to replace those to keep their wireless broadband service working. But there will be plenty of time to do that.

Dallas-based AT&T said Sunday it had agreed to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion. If approved by regulators, the deal would close in about a year.

AT&T said that some time after the closing, it plans to rearrange how T-Mobile’s cell towers work. The airwaves they use for third-generation services, or 3G, will be repurposed for 4G, which is faster.

That would leave current T-Mobile phones without 3G. They would need to be replaced with phones that use AT&T’s 3G frequencies. Ralph de la Vega, AT&T’s head of wireless and consumer services, said this will happen as part of the normal phone upgrade process.

Associated Press

Chase announces end of debit rewards

Put another nail in the coffin for debit card rewards. Chase is notifying customers that they will no longer be able to earn points after July 19. The points accrued up until then will not expire.

Chase had already closed off enrollment in the rewards program to new customers as of Feb. 8.

Chase says it’s ending the program because of a regulation that will sharply limit the fees it can collect from merchants whenever customers swipe their debit cards.

The cap on the debit swipe fees banks can collect was mandated last year under the financial overhaul known as the Dodd-Frank Act. The current proposal would cap fees at 12 cents per transaction, versus the current 1 percent to 2 percent of the transaction amount.

Associated Press

Microsoft files suit over e-book patents

REDMOND, Wash. – Microsoft is suing Barnes & Noble and two electronics manufacturers, saying the Nook e-book reader infringes on patents.

Microsoft Corp. said Monday that it filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Seattle. The software maker also lodged a complaint with the International Trade Commission.

Microsoft says the Nook, which uses Google Inc.’s Android software, steps on patented technology for opening a separate window to help make navigating content easier. The company also says it has patents for easily selecting and annotating text and for loading Web pages quickly.

In addition to Barnes & Noble Inc., Microsoft is suing manufacturers Inventec Corp. and Foxconn International Holdings Ltd., part of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., both based in Taiwan.

Associated Press