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AT&T would be in danger of bankruptcy if it were not for the fact that they are surviving off government welfare through the Firstnet contract[1]. It was only b

AT&T would be in danger of bankruptcy if it were not for the fact that they are surviving off government welfare through the Firstnet contract[1]. It was only buildout requirements mandated by that contract that they even have a modestly functioning network. Their business plan has been to acquire some crappy Mexican carriers[2], DirecTV, as well as the new DISH contract. There's minimal investment otherwise, poor spectrum planning, and rent seeking (domestic roaming gouging using spectrum they were given for free in the 90's) in regions where T-Mobile and USCC don't have buildout.[3] [1] https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/technology/342398-when-government-contracts-become-corporate-welfare https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/technology/342398-whe... [2] https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/at-t-to-buy-mexican-carrier-iusacell-for-2-5b/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/at-t-to-buy-mexican-carrier... [3]https://ruralwireless.org/industrys-wholesale-roaming-rates-reflect-price-gouging-by-national-operators/ https://ruralwireless.org/industrys-wholesale-roaming-rates-... In short, fuck AT&T.

lotsofpulp 5y ago
The last good business move I think ATT made was getting exclusive access to iPhones in 2007 for five years or whatever it was. And that is why I’ve been paying them around ~$40 per line per month since. Actually, it was also due to them being the only big network with SIM cards I could pop out and use another country’s SIM. Verizon took forever to get SIM cards.
- nerdwaller 5y ago
  The SIM was why I moved over from Verizon. I could sample/use/trade a lot of phones as I’ve always enjoyed playing with devices. On Verizon I had to go to a store to activate my devices and half the time the sales person would mark me as using an upgrade that I didn’t. I had to fight Verizon enough times before deciding enough was enough. My guess is the salespeople got some bonus or kudos for getting upgrades sold.
- kevin_thibedeau 5y ago
  > Verizon took forever to get SIM cards. CDMA phones never needed SIM until LTE came along. I once had a Verizon "global" featurephone that supported both CDMA and 2G GSM. It had a Verizon SIM for the GSM side but wasn't otherwise needed for non-roaming connectivity over CDMA.
  - Grazester 5y ago
    Not the point the parent post was making.
- ksec 5y ago
  >The last good business move It wasn't even AT&T, it was Cingular that took the bet.

lotsofpulp 5y ago

The last good business move I think ATT made was getting exclusive access to iPhones in 2007 for five years or whatever it was. And that is why I’ve been paying them around ~$40 per line per month since. Actually, it was also due to them being the only big network with SIM cards I could pop out and use another country’s SIM. Verizon took forever to get SIM cards.

nerdwaller 5y ago
The SIM was why I moved over from Verizon. I could sample/use/trade a lot of phones as I’ve always enjoyed playing with devices. On Verizon I had to go to a store to activate my devices and half the time the sales person would mark me as using an upgrade that I didn’t. I had to fight Verizon enough times before deciding enough was enough. My guess is the salespeople got some bonus or kudos for getting upgrades sold.
kevin_thibedeau 5y ago
> Verizon took forever to get SIM cards. CDMA phones never needed SIM until LTE came along. I once had a Verizon "global" featurephone that supported both CDMA and 2G GSM. It had a Verizon SIM for the GSM side but wasn't otherwise needed for non-roaming connectivity over CDMA.
- Grazester 5y ago
  Not the point the parent post was making.
ksec 5y ago
>The last good business move It wasn't even AT&T, it was Cingular that took the bet.