Raymond McConville

March 4, 2008

1 Min Read
I Admire You

4:35 PM -- So Fortune just named AT&T the most admired telecommunications company. That's just terrific. Or is it?

Taking a glance at Fortune's story, it seems AT&T's honor is roughly the equivalent of being recognized as the smartest kid in special ed. That's because there are no telecommunications companies in the Top 20 Most Admired Companies list -- which is the part Fortune highlights.

Anyway, here's how the telcos rank, from most admired to least:

  • AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T)

  • Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ)

  • Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK)

  • Virgin Media Inc. (Nasdaq: VMED) (They're a sucker for those British accents, I guess.)

  • DirecTV Group Inc. (NYSE: DTV) (Qwest is nodding its head in approval.)

  • Dish Network LLC (Nasdaq: DISH)

  • Alltel Corp. (NYSE: AT)

  • Liberty Global Inc. (Nasdaq: LBTY) (Huh?)

  • Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q) (Oh, thank God we're not last.)

  • Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S)

This is not meant as a slight against AT&T or anyone on this list. It just seems that Fortune apparently doesn't think very highly of telecom (although Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) is No. 1 overall). In fact, a telco hasn't appeared in the Top 20 for any of the last three years. Where's the love? In the meantime, congratulations to AT&T for the "honor."

— Raymond McConville, Reporter, Light Reading

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