Stockholders claim company pumped performance of online video play

By John Eggerton; Broadcasting & Cable ~  Sep 16, 2019

A class action suit has been filed alleging that AT&T pumped up the sub count for its DirecTV Now streaming service (since rebranded to AT&T TV Now) to mask “serious technical problems due to premature roll-out.”

AT&T has recently reported sub losses across multiple platforms, including AT&T TV Now.

An amended federal securities class action complaint was filed late Friday (Sept. 13) in the Southern District of New York on behalf of various individuals and union pension fund stockholders.

By Mike Dano; Light Reading ~ Sep 13, 2019

The FCC fined AT&T $75,000 and AMG Technology Investment Group $100,000 for holding prohibited communications during the agency’s CAF II auction last year.

The FCC said that Baker was “discussing AMG’s Auction 903 bids, its bidding strategies, and bidding results” in order to “secure discounts from AT&T.” However, the FCC did not provide details. The agency listed the fines under the “auction collusion” section of its website.

AT&T was a registered bidder in the auction but did not win anything. AMG’s NextLink, meanwhile, won the most money of any participant in the FCC’s CAF II auction, walking away with $281.3 million in total funding to deploy Internet services to nearly 100,700 homes and businesses in rural parts of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. The company told Light Reading recently that it plans to use the funds to build an extensive fixed wireless network to deliver services in the areas.

The FCC’s $1.5 billion Connect America Fund Phase II (CAF II), dubbed Auction 903, was a reverse auction where the agency promised to give money to the companies that submitted the lowest bid to provide telecommunications services in rural and underserved areas.

AT&T forecasts subscriber loss as big shareholder says DirecTV buy was a mistake.

By Jon Brodkin; Ars Technica ~  Sep 12, 2019

AT&T expects to lose about 1.1 million TV customers in the third quarter as it faces pressure from an investment group that says AT&T’s increased focus on the TV business was a giant mistake.

In an update to shareholders yesterday, AT&T CFO John Stephens “said the company expects an incremental 300,000 to 350,000 premium video losses above the previous quarter’s premium video results,” according to AT&T. Since that’s an incremental increase over the previous quarter’s loss, that will amount to a three-month loss of more than 1 million TV customers.

In Q2 2019, AT&T reported a net loss of 778,000 subscribers in the “Premium TV” category, which includes its DirecTV satellite and U-verse wireline TV services. With AT&T expecting to lose that amount of subscribers plus another 300,000 to 350,000, the update to shareholders suggests the Q3 loss in the category will be between 1,078,000 and 1,128,000 subscribers. (An AT&T spokesperson confirmed to Ars that a projected loss of 1,078,000 and 1,128,000 subscribers in Q3 is accurate.)

By Mike Dano; Light Reading ~ Sep 09, 2019

The nation’s two biggest wireless network operators continue to move toward technologies that promise to make wireless networking components cheaper and more interchangeable. The actions could allow wireless network operators to reduce the money they spend on networking equipment and to pit vendors directly against each other in terms of performance and price.

The clearest indication yet of this trend comes from AT&T, which announced that it successfully tested enhanced Common Public Radio Interface (eCPRI) connections on its 5G millimeter-wave (mmWave) spectrum using equipment from Nokia and Samsung Electronics America.

“The CPRI interface today has proprietary aspects which can result in a slower or more costly network build as we increase the bandwidth served requiring more fibers per radio,” wrote AT&T’s Gordon Mansfield in a post to the company’s website, though he did not provide details on exactly which eCPRI specifications AT&T is implementing, or whether the operator might deploy it commercially. “eCPRI is an enhancement of that technology. It’ll increase the efficiency to support higher bandwidth across fewer fibers. It is also what open interfaces are being built on, making it easier to use multiple vendors in a build. The benefits of this expanded flexibility and capacity will make it easier to deploy mmWave in markets where laying fiber is difficult or impractical, and promote cost effective operations by giving carriers the flexibility to use a variety of vendors to help bring fastest deployments at the best cost.”

By Mike Dano; Light Reading ~ Sep 09, 2019

AT&T is in “prime position to be the early market leader in 5G,” argued the company’s new, sixth largest shareholder. But to take advantage of that opportunity, AT&T must overhaul its front-office management, shed unneeded businesses and cut costs, the investor added.

That controversial position comes from Elliott Management, the activist investment company founded by billionaire Paul Singer that said it recently purchased a $3.2 billion stake in AT&T. As The Wall Street Journal noted, the firm has previously taken an activist stance against companies ranging from Sempra Energy to Nielsen Holdings to Telecom Italia. In a public letter to AT&T shareholders issued Monday, Elliott Management blasted many of AT&T’s recent corporate adventures, from its failed attempt to acquire T-Mobile to its recent purchase of Time Warner.

“We firmly believe that AT&T’s M&A strategy has not only contributed directly to its profound share price underperformance, but has also caused distractions that have contributed to the company’ recent operational underperformance,” the firm wrote.

By Mitch Wagner; Light Reading ~ Sep 06, 2019

It’s getting pretty crowded on AT&T’s cloud. AT&T previously invited Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and Mirantis — and now Tech Mahindra is getting on board.

Specifically: AT&T and the Indian IT services company said Thursday that they’re entering into an expansive partnership to move AT&T’s back office operations to the cloud, to build a business foundation for 5G. Tech Mahindra is moving AT&T’s operation and business support systems (a.k.a. OSS/BSS — billing, order processing, fulfillment and so forth) to Microsoft Azure, following up on AT&T’s Microsoft Azure partnership announced in July.

In other words: AT&T is moving in with Microsoft; Tech Mahindra are the guys who get to carry the furniture upstairs.

Moving AT&T’s systems to Azure is a big part of the deal, but only one part. “We’re taking responsibility for hundreds of applications, moving them to the cloud, and modernizing their architectures going forward,” Manish Vyas, Tech Mahindra president of telecoms and media, tells Light Reading. In addition to OSS/BSS, Tech Mahindra is assisting AT&T in automating its shared IT domain: the enterprise back office systems shared between AT&T’s business units.

Via “News Wire Feed”; Light Reading ~ Sep 04, 2019

DULLES, Va. — Global Wireless Solutions (GWS) released the findings from the most comprehensive U.S. study into wireless connectivity. After months of scientific testing, including the collection of millions of data points across America, analysis of the results reveals for the second consecutive year that AT&T is the “Nation’s Best Network” for its overall national wireless network performance.

GWS OneScore ranking combines engineering drive test data with consumer research, making it the authority on wireless network performance. While most 3rd party organizations look at either drive data or customer feedback, only GWS considers both real-world wireless network performance as well as real consumer opinion on what they want from their network (from coverage to reliability, data speed, voice quality and video performance).

“Our testing results show that all the networks are improving, expanding, and deploying new technologies, but for the second year in a row AT&T’s overall performance puts them in the front of the pack,” said Dr. Paul Carter, CEO and founder of Global Wireless Solutions. “Offering the best wireless network this year not only gives current customers the service they want at work, home or traveling, but also lays a foundation for AT&T’s 5G network.”

By Brian Stelter; CNN Business ~ Sep 03, 2019

(CNN Business)AT&T announced two promotions on Tuesday that place John Stankey, the CEO of its subsidiary WarnerMedia, firmly in line to succeed the wireless giant’s CEO, Randall Stephenson.

Stephenson, who has led AT&T (T) since 2007, is installing Stankey as president and chief operating officer of the entire company. The communications and advertising units will now report to Stankey.

At the same time, Stankey will remain the head of WarnerMedia, the entertainment and news unit that includes CNN.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Stephenson “hasn’t indicated plans to step down from the helm of the company any time soon.” But Monday’s appointment still cleared up the succession questions that always intrigue investors and Wall Street analysts. And Stephenson and AT&T’s board are clearly expressing confidence in Stankey.

By Rachel Frazin; The Hill ~ Aug 30, 2019

AT&T and a union representing its workers in the southeastern United States have reached a five-year tentative agreement after a four-day strike, according to the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

The agreement includes wage increases of 13.25 percent, pension and 401(k) plan enhancements, better job security and the creation of additional customer service positions, CWA said in a statement. Employees will also have the ability to contribute to a Health Savings Account through payroll deductions.

“This agreement provides substantial improvements for working people at AT&T Southeast,” said Richard Honeycutt, the vice president of CWA’s District 3, which covers workers in the Southeast region.

“The strike showed AT&T that our members were united. Once the company returned to the table with negotiators with decision-making authority, we were able to resolve the outstanding issues quickly,” he added.

AT&T confirmed in a statement to The Hill that it had reached an agreement with the workers.

By Mike Dano; Light Reading ~ Aug 26, 2019

John Donovan, the top telecom exec at AT&T, said he will retire October 1. The carrier said it will name a replacement for Donovan “soon.”

For the past two years, Donovan has been the CEO of “AT&T Communications,” one of the four divisions within AT&T. The operator’s other divisions are its Latin American business under Lori Lee; the advertising and analytics business called Xandr under Brian Lesser; and WarnerMedia under John Stankey that houses AT&T’s new entertainment businesses that stretch from HBO to DirecTV. All those divisions report to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson.

Donovan’s responsibilities at “AT&T Communications” range across the operator’s fiber, wireless and TV networks and cover 100 million mobile, broadband and pay-TV customers.

Both Donovan and Stephenson offered upbeat statements on Donovan’s departure.

“It’s been my honor to lead AT&T Communications during a period of unprecedented innovation and investment in new technology that is revolutionizing how people connect with their worlds,” Donovan said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to the future — spending more time with my family and watching with pride as the AT&T team continues to set the pace for the industry.”