Business
Industry: NAICS code is 517911- Telecommunications Resellers
Market: NASDAQ
Symbol: AT&T Inc.
Revenue: $40.9 billion
Profile of the firm
AT&T is a telecommunications company that provides mobile services, landline services, television services, as well as high-speed internet connection. It operates both in the United States and on an international platform. Most specifically, AT&T offers products primarily to the United States, Mexico, and other Latin American countries. According to Reuters (2017), AT&T offers services to businesses, the government, wholesalers, and individual consumers. Between the wireless voice and data provision, which is the most popular service at AT&T, the company offers a variety of unique and innovative services that allows users to share data, voice, and text across various devices.
AT&T is also known to have a large footprint on the high-speed internet market. The Company offers a wide choice of internet speed packages that are known to meet most customers’ needs. According to Reuters (2017), their 100 percent fiber optic internet allows for the fastest movie downloading speeds in the region. Because of its internet capabilities, it is known to offer internet solutions to numerous businesses across the United States and eleven Latin countries.
Aspects of the company that may give them a competitive advantage
One of the greatest economic stories in America is the competitive edge that AT&T has over other players in the telecommunications industry in the United States. AT&T was able to install fiber optic cables in most regions in the United States before other industry players were able to do so. As a result, Lee (2012) states that the company controls most of the fiber optic cables in the United States today. The strategy made AT&T the most reliable provider of the fastest and most affordable internet in the region. It has allowed AT&T to control most of the telecommunications infrastructure in the United States.
Current issue that the firm may be facing
Currently, AT&T is facing three major challenges. The first one concerns the proposed strategy to take over the Time Warner Company. Sun (2017) estimates that the acquisition will cost AT&T $85 billion. However, critics argue that AT&T intention is not creating better priced options for pay TV but to eliminate competition. The company needs to convince lawmakers and investors that the takeover is not fraudulent.
Secondly, Sun (2017) reveals that AT&T is currently at conflict with the FCC, which recently reached the conclusion that AT&T’s zero rating strategy is in violation of the net neutrality riles. The FCC is the regulatory body on matters of media in the USA. According to the FCC, the zero-rating strategy that will offer data free consumption of DirecTV will strengthen AT&T market’s share which is an unfair strategy against other streaming companies like Netflix.
Finally, AT&T has been amassing a lot of debt over the years. The current debt is currently contributed by the acquisition of DirecTV, $18 billion acquisition of AWS-3 spectrum licenses among various other expenditures. However, Sun (2017) insists that the company needs to keep their debt levels under control because further spending will reduce dividend growth.
Analyze the vision and mission of firm
AT&T mission statement and vision heavily emphasizes connection, innovation, and doing a better job than other telecommunication companies do globally. AT&T roots its mission and vision from creating a device that would change communications industry. While AT&T was founded in 1913, today it has become the United States dominant player in the telecommunications industry. In addition to its mission and vision, AT&T has several values that the company uses to guide its employees and its overall activities. They aim to deliver future technology first, building great customer relationships, use their human abilities optimally, and observe integrity and trust. The responsibility to provide the best technology as a competitive price has certainly contributed to the AT&T success over the years.
General competitive profile of the firm
AT&T has become a global leader in the telecommunications industry due to its competitive firm profile. It has become a well known fact that AT&T is in the business of providing the most cutting edge techniques in the communication industry. It achieves its goals through the help of numerous subsidiaries and holding companies. These AT&T affiliate companies offer services with the help of satellite, fiber optic cable, wireline, and wireless strategies. As a result, AT&T has become the leading provider of wireline telephone services and the second largest provider of mobile wireless services behind Verizon (Yahoo Finance 2017). Besides thoroughly exploiting the communications sector, AT&T has entered the market offering digital television. The strategy was prompted by the success of Netflix as well as other streaming services. With its internet capabilities, AT&T has offered consumers a chance to access digital TV without using their already preinstalled internet. However, these customers need to be consumers of AT&T internet. It is therefore very impressive to see AT&T use its internet capabilities to venture into another market and offer even better market prices than what consumers previously enjoyed.
Primary competitors
As a mobile service, landline, and internet provider, AT&T has strong and influential telecommunications companies as its competitor. They include Verizon Communications Inc. T-Mobile Us, Inc. and Sprint Corporation. Recently, AT&T has entered the market of providing streaming television by launching DirecTV. As a result, it has gained some new competitors including Netflix, HBO, and Amazon TV among others.
Key products
The main AT&T key services are telecommunication products and digital entertainment services. On the telecommunications arena, AT&T provides voice and data services for mobile users. There also exists a text package that most AT&T mobile phone users can access. AT&T also provides wireless telephone services to businesses, government, and wholesale consumers. Another popular product that AT&T offers is the DSL internet access to companies, wholesale consumers, and private consumers. The DSL internet includes broadband and internet services to over 12 million home users. Another popular product is the long distance calling and roaming services when travelling to other regions. Yahoo Finance (2017) states that AT&T customers can either choose postpaid or prepaid voice and communication services. Other segments that are less know but equally popular include advertising service, consultancy, and application services. AT&T has also ventured into sale of mobile phones and computers that are enabled by the AT&T broadband internet. More recently, AT&T launched DirecTV, which is a digital television service. These services are offered in both the United States and several Latin countries.
Identifiable customer profiles
AT&T entertainment sector primarily targets the new television consumer who is interested in streaming programs as compared to using the traditional cable services. Notably, an AT&T mobile service customer has several devices including tablets and mobile phones. The profile is identifiable because AT&T offers sharing services of data, voice, and text across several devices. Another AT&T consumer characteristic is that they are heavy internet users since AT&T provides very competitive internet packages on both large scale and private setting. Finally, an AT&T user will also travel around the world and mostly to Latin countries, as they will enjoy data and voice roaming services.
Success to date
AT&T has achieved dominance both in the United States as well as globally. Today, it is ranked among the top 200 most profitable companies in the world. In the United States, its internet users are over 12 million. The entertainment holding companies also offer services to approximately 24 million subscribers. Overall, AT&T is a highly successful but equally aggressive company and regarded as an influential market leader in the United States and globally.
References
Lee, T. B. (2012). Keeping the internet competitive. National Affairs, 11, 1. Retrieved from: http://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/keeping-the-internet-competitive
Reuters. (2017). AT&T Inc (T.N). Retrieved from: http://in.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=T.N
Sun, L. (Dec 13, 2016). The 3 biggest challenges Facing AT&T Inc. The Motley Fool. Retrieved from: http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/12/13/the-3-biggest-challenges-facing-att- inc.aspx
Yahoo Finance. (2017). AT&T Inc. Retrieved from: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/T/profile
