Webwire: AT&T buys T-Mo USA for $39b; Etisalat drops Zain bid

AT&T will acquire T-Mobile USA from parent company Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion, in a deal that will make AT&T the largest mobile operator in the US.

Etisalat has dropped its bid to buy a controlling stake in Zain, after deciding the political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa and disagreement among Zain shareholders made the deal “no longer viable.”

Data storage vendor EMC has disclosed that its security division was hacked, in an “extremely sophisticated” attack which may have compromised RSA SecurID two-factor authentication.

Associated Press 

Icann has approved the use of the .xxx top level domain for porn sites, despite far from unanimous agreement from governments and the adult industry over the move.

IBM has agreed to pay $10 million to settle allegations it bribed South Korean and Chinese government employees to win business deals.

Canadian chipmaker Mosaid Technology has sued 17 vendors, including Huawei, RIM, Dell and Intel, alleging violation of 16 Wi-Fi patents the company holds.

UK mobile phone retailer Phones4u, which has over 500 stores, has been bought out by BC Partners for nearly £700 million ($1.13 billion).

US operator AT&T has started informing mobile subscribers tethering via jailbroken iPhones that they must have a tethering plan to do so, and will be automatically signed up to one if they continue.