Trade a merger for broadband?

AT&T Minnesota President Bob Bass says that 1.2 million additional people in Minnesota will get broadband the company's plan to buy T-Mobile and a push to cover 97 percent of the population nationally. But critics of the proposed merger, including cellphone competitor Sprint, say the promise of increased rural broadband is being offered as a mirage to entice regulators into allowing the megamerger to proceed.

They say that nothing is stopping AT&T from expanding now if it was willing to put the effort -- and money -- into rural broadband. Like other telecom services, high-speed Internet and strong cell coverage have been slowest to reach rural communities. The proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom leaves some of Minnesota's rural residents wondering if it could fix their dropped calls and Internet issues, or if they'll still be left out of range as prices rise.