1:30 PM AT&T plays the victim, but its customers pay the price

Sarah Thomas, Director, Women in Comms

January 26, 2012

1 Min Read
AT&T Blames FCC for Price Hikes

1:30 PM -- Jefferies & Company Inc. analysts suggested Wednesday that increased Wi-Fi usage leading to revenue loss is what drove AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) to raise prices. But, that's not the reason AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson gave on its fourth-quarter earnings call today. (See Wi-Fi Usage Drives AT&T to Raise Prices and AT&T Banks on Broadband, Cries for Spectrum.)

With more than a hint of bitterness, he blamed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) .

AT&T's spectrum crunch, the result of its inability to acquire T-Mobile US Inc. , forced it to raise prices and "manage connection speeds" on its biggest users, Stephenson said on the call.

Sure, that could explain the throttling, but the price hike, not so much. AT&T raised the overall price of its data plans by $5, but more megabytes were included in each. So, AT&T is actually encouraging consumers to use more, but charging more for it. It was clearly for the revenue, not the network.

I definitely understand why AT&T is mad at the FCC. I would be too if I lost billions on what I'd thought was a sure thing. But, playing the victim isn't a good approach here -- especially when its customers are victimized in the process.

— Sarah Reedy, Senior Reporter, Light Reading Mobile

About the Author(s)

Sarah Thomas

Director, Women in Comms

Sarah Thomas's love affair with communications began in 2003 when she bought her first cellphone, a pink RAZR, which she duly "bedazzled" with the help of superglue and her dad.

She joined the editorial staff at Light Reading in 2010 and has been covering mobile technologies ever since. Sarah got her start covering telecom in 2007 at Telephony, later Connected Planet, may it rest in peace. Her non-telecom work experience includes a brief foray into public relations at Fleishman-Hillard (her cussin' upset the clients) and a hodge-podge of internships, including spells at Ingram's (Kansas City's business magazine), American Spa magazine (where she was Chief Hot-Tub Correspondent), and the tweens' quiz bible, QuizFest, in NYC.

As Editorial Operations Director, a role she took on in January 2015, Sarah is responsible for the day-to-day management of the non-news content elements on Light Reading.

Sarah received her Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She lives in Chicago with her 3DTV, her iPad and a drawer full of smartphone cords.

Away from the world of telecom journalism, Sarah likes to dabble in monster truck racing, becoming part of Team Bigfoot in 2009.

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