AT&T to Launch 4G Network in Salt Lake City
AT&T to Launch 4G Network in Salt Lake
AT&T to Launch 4G Network in Salt Lake City
Last week AT&T announced that it will launch 4G LTE services over its own 4G network in the later part of this year in Salt Lake City to give competition to Verizon which also operates its own 4G LTE network in Utah.
With the advanced 4G technology mobile devices like computer tablets and cellphones are able to send and receive data up to 10 times faster than 3G networks. On these superfast networks users can stream movies and music, surf the Internet and download songs and apps at blazing speeds.
Jenifer Robertson, VP and General Manger for AT&T’s Rocky Mountain area said that the company is pleased to offer its 4G services to the residents of Salt Lake City. AT&T’s teams would work hard towards making the upcoming launch a success.
AT&T currently is using a form of 3G called HSPA which is compatible with select devices only including the latest iPhone 4S. Meanwhile its competitor, Verizon had already launched its 4G services in Salt Lake City in June last year and has even expanded its reach to areas around Ogden.
With the launch of AT&T’s 4G LTE service in Salt Lake City, its customers in this area can now get access to data speeds of up to 10 times faster than 3G networks and improve speeds for downloading movies, songs and applications.
AT&T did not specify as to when exactly the service would become available to its customers. Or will the service be extended beyond the city. But analysts feel that the start of AT&T’s 4G LTE service could coincide with the launch of new iPhone either in June or July this year. It is believed that the new iPhone will be compatible with 4G networks as the third generation iPad, launched in March last year is already 4G compatible.
Categories: 4G, At&t, Internet News, Utah, Wireless Tags: 4G, At&t, Salt Lake City, Wireless
AT&T, Verizon Still behind Cable Rivals in Broadband Growth
Cable Internet
AT&T, Verizon Still behind Cable Rivals in Broadband Growth
Figures show that the biggest telephone companies in the US are growing their broadband subscriber bases but their growth rate is slower than their cable rivals as indicated by the figures of the first quarter. In broadband Internet wars, Verizon and AT&T are way behind Time Warner Cable and Comcast.
The two major telcos have suffered losses in their ADSL Internet operations however these losses have been partially offset by the gains made by their respective FiOS and U-Verse businesses.
AT&T U-Verse gained 718,000 customers in the last quarter to reach an overall subscriber base of 5.9 million. However the net subscriber gain was only 103,000 as the company lost subscribers in the wire-line broadband sector. AT&T provides satellite and DSL line broadband under its wire-line broadband services.
Verizon too suffered DSL losses which hampered its broadband growth although it posted its highest quarterly net increase since the second quarter in 2009. Verizon lost 89,000 DSL subscribers in the first quarter of 2012. In the corresponding period last year Verizon had lost 109,000 DSL subscribers. It also gained 193,000 new FiOS subscribers.
Verizon’s and AT&T’s cable rivals continued to show good performance in adding a greater number of subscribers. Time Warner added 214,000 domestic broadband subscribers whereas Comcast added another 439,000.
The numbers are indicative of an industry trend where telephone companies have lagged behind the cable companies in broadband growth. Leichtman Research Group, earlier this year reported that phone companies served about 34.3 million subscribers whereas cable companies supported 44.3 million subscribers.
However the pay TV market hasn’t been so kind to the cable industry. In the last quarter Comcast, the largest cable TV provider lost 37,000 video customers in what is believed to be its 20th consecutive quarterly loss in video customers. Time Warner too lost 94,000 subscribers in the last quarter.
Categories: At&t, Broadband, Cable Internet, Comcast, Internet News, Time Warner Cable, Verizon Tags: At&t, Broadband, Comcast, time warner cable, Verizon
AT&T Revenue, Net Income up on Smartphone Sales
AT&T Revenue, Net Income up on Smartphone Sales
AT&T Revenue, Net Income up on Smartphone Sales
Gains in mobile services especially in Smartphones sales helped AT&T revenue up 1.8 percent which is an increase of 5.2 percent in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
The company reported revenue of $31.8 billion for the quarter ending March 2012 up from $31.2 billion for the corresponding quarter in 2011. Net income increased from $3.4 billion to $3.6 billion.
AT&T pointed out that the main reason for the company’s growth is the growth in its mobile services. The company sold 5.5 million Smartphones in the first quarter of 2012. Seventy eight percent of the company’s sales were postpaid device sales. More than 59 percent AT&T subscribers now own Smartphones. IN the same quarter the company added 726,000 new mobile customers to bring its total mobile subscriber base to 103.9 million.
The company’s mobile revenue increased by 5.4 percent to $16.1 billion. Revenue from mobile data went up to $6.1 billion which is an increase of 19.9 percent.
Randall Stephenson, AT&T Chairman and CEO said that the company expects to leverage its momentum in mobile Internet. The earnings for each share stood at $0.60 beating expectations from analysts who predicted $0.57.
On the wire-line side, AT&T reported revenue of $14.9 billion which is down 0.8 percent from the previous year. Net income gained 2.4 percent and stood at $1.8 billion. In a press release, the company noted that the revenue from AT&T DSL business is $9.2 billion which is also down by 0.8 percent however this has been the slowest decline in past three years.
Growth in the broadband sector had offset declines in other areas. Domestic broadband revenue stood at $5.4 billion signifying an increase of 1 percent. The company added 200,000 customers to its U-Verse television service and 718,000 U-Verse broadband service in the last quarter.
AT&T CEO Regrets iPhone Unlimited Data Plans
AT&T Regrets Unlimited Data iPhone Plans
AT&T CEO Regrets iPhone Unlimited Data Plans
Earlier last week, Randall Stephenson, AT&T’s CEO attended a conference when he was asked to speak on the state of the wireless industry in the US. Most people expected a standard CEOs speech from Stephenson but he surprised everyone with his clear and frank opinions. He very clearly admitted that AT&T committed a mistake by offering unlimited plans for its iPhone customers. He also said that he loses sleep whenever he thinks about Apple’s iMessage service.
Stephenson admitted that had AT&T refused to offer unlimited data to its iPhone users, the company could have made heavy data users pay for their usage. Conversely what the company was diverting revenue earned from light users and subsidize heavy users. He further added that he regretted introducing this kind of pricing where he has to invest for every additional megabyte used on AT&T’s network due to the variable cost model on which data business operates.
After its initial offering of unlimited data plans, AT&T has since moved to tiered and limited usage plans which seem to have worked in the company’s favor. In fact the company realized profits worth $6.1 billion from mobile data clearly showing that the company has moved in the right direction with respect to introducing data plans which are beneficial for all parties. Most Internet service providers have also followed the AT&T Internet pricing model and introduced capping on data usage although many user’s rights organizations are against it.
He further went on to criticize Apple’s iMessage service which depends on AT&T’s data but keeps users away from using AT&T’s own SMS service. He candidly admitted that he loses sleep over Apple’s iMessage service as it is disruptive to his business. He also talked about Microsoft owned Skype and admitted that these kinds of services were a threat to the wireless industry.
Categories: At&t, Internet Caps, Internet News, Wireless Tags: At&t, Data Plans, iPhone, Unlimited
AT&T Hikes U-verse TV To 4 Million Subscribers as DSL Woes Persist
AT&T U-verse TV Gains
AT&T Hikes U-verse TV To 4 Million Subscribers as DSL Woes Persist
The total subscriber base of AT&T U-Verse TV at the end of last quarter stood at 3.99 million users which represents a healthy gain of 200,000 new subscribers in the first quarter of 2012. The company also managed to enroll 718,000 new AT&T U-Verse Internet subscribers during the same period while the numbers in its AT&T DSL and voice customers continued to show a decline.
While the revenues and number of subscribers continued to climb, the company has completed a major portion of its fiber to the node U-Verse network by 2011 having a capacity to connect 30 million units which signals that the growth rate would be difficult to sustain. AT&T lost 615,000 DSL subscribers in the first quarter this year and its total wire-line broadband subscriber base stood at 16.53 million. The reports also show an increase in data usage trends amongst AT&T subscribers. Around 45% of its broadband customers have subscribed to plans delivering 6 Mbps or higher as compared to 35% in the first quarter of 2011. Meanwhile voice connections continued to show a decline and the company lost nearly 3.5 million voice connection subscribers representing a decline of 12.5% year on year standing at 20.5 million. AT&T still managed to recover some of the losses suffered in voice business by growth in the IP data services.
Sanford Bernstein a senior analyst from Craig Moffett noted that wire-line results were neither a cause for celebration nor a cause for concern.
Revenue from domestic customers in Q1 was $5.4 billion indicating an increase of 1% over Q1 of 2011. Over 55% of the company’s revenue is now associated with U-Verse broadband, voice over IP and video revenue. The corresponding figure was 47% in Q1 of 2011. The total Q1 wire-line revenue was $14.9 billion which is down 0.8% as compared to the same quarter in 2011.
Categories: At&t, DSL, Fiber Optic, Internet News, TV, U-Verse Tags: At&t, DSL, tv, u-verse
Verizon Fires Back at Critics of Deal
Verizon Fires Back at Critics of Deal
Verizon Fires Back at Critics of Deal
Last week Verizon hit out against critics of the proposed deal between Verizon and a coalition of cable companies in a representation made by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The deal will clear the path for Verizon to buy spectrum from Bright House, Time Warner Cable, Cox and Comcast . These companies have also agreed to cross selling of each other’s products and services.
Consumer rights groups like Free, Press and Public Knowledge as well as communications companies like T-Mobile have objected to the deal saying it will allow Verizon to become the dominant player in the market and it is against the practice of fair competition. These groups have requested the FCC to block the deal.
In its reply to the FCC, Verizon has said that on one hand these companies were not using their spectrum and on the other hand Verizon was finding it difficult to meet the growing frequency demands of its customers.
Verizon also argued that the FCC should not consider other alternatives to the deal like the companies selling their spectrum to T-Mobile.
T-Mobile in its filing with the FCC has stated that Verizon already has the majority of spectrum owned by any carrier and the deal will allow Verizon to block other carriers from accessing this valuable resource. But Verizon has firmly denied the accusation saying that it is not interested in warehousing and the accusation against it is absolutely false. The company thinks itself as a good steward of the spectrum and it needed more spectrum to fulfill customers’ demands for 4G LTE service and cable Internet subscribers.
Consumer groups feel that the deal will push the market towards duopoly with AT&T Verizon sharing the pie amongst them. The company argued that the market is very competitive and that neither AT&T nor Verizon owned the most spectrum’s but that distinction went to Clearwire, another wireless Internet provider.
Categories: At&t, Bright House, Comcast, Cox, FCC, Internet News, T-Mobile, Time Warner Cable, Wireless Tags: FCC, Verizon
Verizon Offers Asset Sale for Approval on Cable Airwave Buy
Verizon Offers Asset Sale for Approval on Cable Airwave Buy
Verizon Offers Asset Sale for Approval on Cable Airwave Buy
Last week Verizon Wireless offered to sell off a few of its assets in exchange for a regulatory approval its $3.9 billion purchase of wireless spectrum from a group of cable television companies.
The carrier, which is the largest internet service and solutions provider in the U.S said that it is willing to sell some of its 700 megahertz spectrum or airwaves if the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission approve the cable deal.
The company has encountered stiff resistance to its cable deal from rivals like Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile USA and consumer watchdog groups who believe that Verizon would capture too much market power. Last year AT&T was also willing to sell some assets in its $39 billion to acquire T-mobile but was prevented as it raised concerns over reduced competition.
Verizon’s 700 megahertz spectrum was brought in the FCC sponsored auction in 2008. A spokeswoman for the carrier said that Verizon hadn’t used its spectrum and it would prefer using the cable spectrum to build its high speed Verizon mobile broadband network also known as 4G LTE. Robin Nicol, the spokeswoman also said that if the cable deal was opposed by regulators, Verizon would need to supplement its existing spectrum with another spectrum. She also added that the offer of selling 700 megahertz spectrum wasn’t made after its negotiations with FCC regulators. FCC has declined to comment on this.
Verizon Wireless added that the 700 megahertz spectrum offer also depended on regulatory approval for a spectrum swap deal with Leap Wireless. Through this deal Leap would provide Verizon a spectrum license covering 18.7 million Americans and in return Verizon would give Leap some Chicago area licenses covering around 11 million users.
Carriers are fighting for spectrum licenses as demand for downloading videos, pictures and music from users could leave them with a crippling spectrum shortage.
AT&T Expands Mobile Internet Wireless Capacity in Macomb County
AT&T Expands Michigan Mobile Internet Wireless Capacity
AT&T Expands Mobile Internet Wireless Capacity in Macomb County
Michigan Wireless Broadband customers in three Macomb counties of Clinton, Macomb and New Baltimore are expected to experience the better mobile Internet and wireless Internet coverage and voice performance as a result of AT&Ts ongoing investment in regional. The company last week announced that it had completed a key initiative in its continued efforts for better wireless capacity in these areas.
Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said that with AT&Ts additional investment, Macomb County along with entire Metro Detroit area would be better connected. Expansion of hi speed Internet and voice coverage provides job makers the necessary tools to infuse new vigor in the economy and gives the residents the chance to stay connected with the rest of the world he added.
President of AT&T Michigan, Jim Murray said that AT&Ts goal is to provide an extraordinary experience to its customers and the Macomb County initiative is part of the goal to invest in local wireless networks. This is part of the AT&Ts strategy of developing its network in more areas and providing mobile broadband and Internet services to large communities.
AT&T’s network enhancements in the Macomb County region provides new frequency layers for better managing demand for mobile Internet services by allocating additional network resources.
The AT&Ts mobile Internet network uses 3rd generation partnership project family of technologies which includes UMTS and GSM, which are most widely used platforms globally. Amongst all the carriers in the U.S. AT&T have the best international coverage with access to voice services in over 225 countries and data services in over 200 countries.
With over 30,000 hot spots, AT&T manages the biggest Wi-Fi network in the U.S. With roaming agreements it provides access to over 225,000 global hotspots. Most AT&T Smartphone users can access the entire Wi-Fi network in the country with no additional cost. Also Wi-Fi usage doesn’t count towards the user monthly wireless data plans.
AT&T Wins 4G Crown: WiMAX Worse Than 3G
AT&T Wins 4G Crown: WiMAX Worse Than 3G
AT&T Wins 4G Crown: WiMAX Worse Than 3G
In the latest survey published by PCWorld magazine last week, AT&T was then named as the best 4G carrier and T-Mobile USA the best 4G carrier beating rivals like Verizon and CenturyLink. The survey also highlighted that WiMAX was falling way behind its LTE rivals.
The survey found that amongst all wireless carriers AT&T had the best download speeds although Verizon’s LTE service did score better for upload speeds. In the 3G category, T- Mobile USA’s HSPA + 21 Mbps which in fact the carrier markets as 4G staved off stiff competition from its rivals.
T- Mobile USA’s HSPA + 42 Mbps fared surprisingly well against established 4G providers. The survey found out that the carrier’s plans were more transparent, cheaper and flexible as compared to other carriers surveyed.
Verizon was the first to offer LTE services but due to this download speeds with Verizon’s LTE are slower than AT&T which started its LTE service much later. 3G speeds aren’t showing any improvement compared to previous years with Verizon’s focus being primarily on increasing next gen coverage. That has helped the carrier in terms of service accessibility. Its 4G service is more accessible than its competitors.
WiMAX has started showing its age. It was the first to announce the 4G label but it fared even worse than its 3G service providing rivals in most cities covered under the survey.
PCWorld drew its conclusions from the survey with a suggestion for users who frequently download to check for coverage maps for Verizon and AT&T and opt for AT&T if they have coverage in their area as it has better download speeds than any internet service provider in the U.S. Uploaders can use Verizon’s service for its fast upload speed. In terms of cheap billing Internet subscribers can switch to T-Mobile USA which has more convenient billing plans.
Verizon Stops Selling DSL in Fiber Markets, Eyes More FiOS Price Hikes
Verizon Stops Selling DSL in Fiber FiOS Markets
Verizon Stops Selling DSL in Fiber Markets, Eyes More FiOS Price Hikes
According to Verizon Communications CFO, Fran Shammo, Verizon will be aiming to improve its wire-line unit’s profitability by no longer selling Verizon DSL over copper in areas where FiOS is available and hiking the price of FiOS bundles in the next two quarters.
In the first quarter of 2012, Verizon added 193,000 FiOS Internet and 180,000 TV subscribers but it also lost 89,000 DSL subscribers and 440,000 voice connections. Shammo supported Verizon’s plans to migrate from copper to fiber in FiOS markets as a way of providing long term benefits in operating costs. He said that in the long term it is better to take most of these customers from Verizon’s copper network to FiOS network. The benefit would be a decrease in the repairs and maintenance over time and an increase in the upselling capacity as these customers are included in the FiOS network and then in the linear TV product offered by Verizon. In the trials conducted by Verizon last year where it had migrated customers from copper to fiber, the company is beginning to see a 30% sale upgrade on those customers.
Bill Kula, Verizon’s spokesman said that for customers who are price sensitive and want to manage their monthly broadband expenses in FiOS only areas, the company offers a 3 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up FiOS Internet for $39.99 per month on a one year contract standalone basis.
On the other hand Verizon is raising the lease fees for FiOS TV DVRs by 6% in the New York metro area from $15.99 to $16.99 per month and the set top box rates by 17% to $6.99 monthly.
Shammo added that during the next two quarters Verizon would hike prices of several FiOS packages and rebundle certain packages to make them more profitable depending on the tier consumers pick.
At&t recently also started switching all of their At&t DSL customers to their fiber optic U-Verse product. We wrote about this in a earlier ISP 1 blog post. At&t Forcing DSL Customers To U-Verse – http://isp1.us/blog/att-forcing-dsl-customers-to-u-verse/
The very active At&t post has dozens of comments from former At&t DSL customers.
Categories: At&t, DSL, Fiber Optic, FiOS, U-Verse, Verizon Tags: AT&T U-Verse, DSL, fiber optic Internet, Verizon FiOS
