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An iPhone 5 launch in September has been confirmed by a "trusted AT&T source," according to a new report. The carrier plans to launch the sixth-generation iPhone in the third or fourth week of September, according to BGR's report . That time frame would put the next Apple smartphone's launch in line with the Sept. 21 date other reports have mentioned. Many expect Apple to unveil the phone on Sept. 12. Rumor roundup: The new iPhone But unlike other reports, BGR's is the first that gives some information on its source beyond something vague and along the lines of "someone with knowledge.

The Obama administration Wednesday filed to block AT&T's proposed $39 billion acquisition of wireless rival T-Mobile USA because of anti-competitive concerns. The Justice Department said the acquisition would "remove a significant competitive force" with AT&T and T-Mobile competing in at least 97 of the top 100 U.S. wireless markets, according to court papers obtained by Reuters. Blocking the acquisition on antitrust grounds would deal a blow to the telecommunication giant's expansion plans.

AT&T activated 3.3 million fewer iPhones in its first quarter compared with its fourth, a potentially concerning sign for Apple as the tech giant prepares to announce its own earnings later Tuesday. AT&T said it activated 4.3 million of the smartphones, up from the 3.6 million activated in the first quarter of 2011. But that's down significantly from the 7.6 million activated by the wireless carrier in the fourth quarter, after the iPhone 4S model launched. Apple's shares tumbled 2.5% midday, or $14.08, to $557.63 on the news, which came after Verizon said last week that it had activated just 3.2 million iPhones in its first quarter - a 24% drop.

AT&T said it will invest $14 billion over the next three years improving and expanding its wireless and broadband infrastructure. The Texas-based company said $8 billion will be used to improve its wireless network. AT&T said it plans to expand its 4G LTE high-speed Internet wireless network to cover 300 million people by the end of 2014. That's an improvement over the company's current plan, which would expand the network to cover 250 million people by the end of next year. The latest plan, which AT&T calls Project Velocity IP, dedicates the remaining $6 billion to improving the company's fiber-optic, broadband networks.

AT&T has announced that it will start taking pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Note II on Thursday and will have it available in stores Nov. 9. The Texas-based carrier will sell the Samsung device, a hybrid smartphone/tablet with a 5.5-inch screen, for $299.99 with a two-year contract. AT&T is the second carrier to announce pricing and a launch date for the upcoming device. Earlier this month, Sprint said it would begin selling the Galaxy Note II in stores on Thursday. Sprint will sell the phone at the same price as AT&T.

AT&T has announced it won't charge users extra for cellular FaceTime calls -- if they are on the network's new Mobile Share plan. FaceTime is Apple's video calling feature, available for the iPhone and other Apple devices. AT&T said it will offer the feature as a benefit to its customers who choose to go with the new plan, which was announced last month and will launch in late August.  That's good news for customers who switch to that plan, but users who like their existing plans have a potentially difficult decision to make.

It looks like AT&T iPhone customers may have to pay to make cellular FaceTime calls upon of iOS 6 this fall. After previously allowing developers to use the function for free, a developer version of iOS 6 on AT&T now brings up a notice asking users to enable cellular FaceTime calls. But it isn't the first time AT&T put out a notice like this. The network activated a similar message when it started charging extra for iPhone tethering a few years back, says 9 to 5 Mac , which discovered the notice for cellular FaceTime calls.

AT&T will begin taking pre-orders for Nokia's new flagship smartphone, the Lumia 920, starting Wednesday. The Windows Phone 8 device will be available for $99 if bought with a new two-year contract. The phone will start selling in stores on Friday. The Lumia 920 was unveiled by Nokia and Microsoft jointly two months ago at an event in New York as the lead phone for Windows Phone 8, the latest version of Microsoft's mobile operating system. Although excitement for the phone was initially high, early reviews of the phone are calling the device too heavy.

The BlackBerry Z10 smartphone could land stateside as soon as March 22, according to a report. AT&T is set to begin selling the Canadian-designed phone at its stores on that day, according to Bloomberg, which cites unnamed sources. The Z10, which has a 4.2-inch screen and 16 GB of storage, was announced in late January and is on sale in other countries. In the U.S., AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have said they would begin carrying and selling the Z10 in March, but no carrier has officially confirmed what day sales would begin.

The Nokia Lumia 920 is starting to make some rumbles in the smartphone market, selling out on Amazon.com and seeing some wait times on AT&T for some versions. On Amazon, the wait time for Nokia's flagship phone is one to two weeks. It sells the black version of the Lumia 920, which launched this month. The Seattle online retailer lists the 4.5-inch screen phone as back-ordered. The black Lumia 920 is also sold out on AT&T's website and is listed as completely out of stock.