AT&T kills community forum website amid price hikes

AT&T said it will shutter its "Community Forums" website later this month.

"After careful consideration, we've made the decision to sunset our Community Forums," the company confirmed in a statement to Light Reading. "We're committed to providing our customers with the best support experience possible, and we believe this can be accomplished through our dedicated expert care support channels where they have the option to engage with us directly."

The company said it will discontinue the site on June 27, and customers will be directed to its att.com/support site for future support needs.

AT&T's Community Forums website boasts close to 900,000 total posts and 1.6 million members. And the company's move doesn't seem to be a reaction to a lack of interest: On Tuesday, there appeared to be dozens of posts to the site covering everything from error messages to phone trade-in calculations.

But AT&T's move doesn't come as a surprise. The company – along with its peers – has been working to slim down its finances while concurrently boosting revenues. Indeed, AT&T is in the midst of a three-year, $2 billion cost-cutting program, having finished a $6 billion project last year. Part of that effort likely involves job cuts; as Light Reading has previously reported, AT&T shed at least 2,200 jobs since the start of the year.

But cutting costs isn't AT&T's only financial strategy. The company has also been raising prices. The latest: Cnet reported that, starting in August, AT&T will raise prices on some older plans by $10 per month for a single line of service or $20 per month for multiple lines.

Verizon and T-Mobile have engaged in similar price hikes and cost-cutting efforts.