According to a source, AT&T may not have to pay a multi-billion dollar breakup fee to Deutsche Telekom even if its $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA fails.

“There are a number of options under which the contract will not come into effect,” the person, who is familiar with the contract, told Reuters on Monday.

From in.finance.yahoo.com:

The U.S. government last week sued to block AT&T’s purchase of T-Mobile USA, a deal that would vault the combined company above Verizon Wireless as the No. 1 player in the United States.

As part of the AT&T deal, Deutsche Telekom secured a breakup fee comprising $6 billion in cash and other assets should regulators reject the deal.

Under its agreement with Deutsche Telekom, the deal is only valid if the acquisition receives regulatory approval within a certain timeframe, the source said on Monday.

Deutsche Telekom declined to comment on this matter.

The option of paying for calls in advance instead of making commitments for long-term contracts was initiated by Verizon Wireless on September 3. This move is expected to pit the company directly against rivals including Leap Wireless.

With more and more consumers trying to avoid long-term contract commitments, this move by Verizon is expected to help it attract new consumers and retain existing ones.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc, said it is offering unlimited mobile Internet use for $30 per month to prepaid users of smartphones such as BlackBerrys.

But prepaid customers typically have to make do with less-advanced phones, while postpaid consumers get their choice of advanced phones that are heavily subsidized by operators.

The company did not offer a price list for the prepaid phones but said pricing would be close to the amount it charges customers signing up for a one-year postpaid contract.

For example, a prepaid customer would have to pay $394.99 for the Verizon’s flagship phone, the Droid X from Motorola Inc, whereas a postpaid customer would pay only $200 for the same phone after rebates.

However, prepaid smartphone customers will be able to opt to pay $10 per month for data service, if they do not mind that their usage will be capped at data downloads of 25 megabytes.

No price list was provided by Verizon but the company said that pricing would be in proximity to the amount it charges consumers signing up for a one-year postpaid contract.