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AT&T considers upgrading rural phone lines
01 June 2012
AT&T looks at upgrade to counter stiff competition in rural areas of US from cable companies
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AT&T is considering upgrading its rural phone lines to handle higher-speed internet services, reported Bloomberg, as an alternative to selling off the businesses. The company’s CEO, Randall Stephenson, said earlier this week that he will make a decision on rural phone lines in the second half of 2012.
The operator is facing stiff competition from cable companies which are providing broadband service in a broader segment of rural areas.
On a conference call conducted by JPMorgan Chase, Stephenson told investors that the company would depend on new copper-line technology in order to provide faster broadband in areas which do not have AT&T’s U-verse fibre-optic network. AT&T plans to offer a better version of DSL technology on existing lines.
Stephenson told Bloomberg: “We are giving this a hard look.” He said that IP-based DSLAMs “bring broadband capability in a more cost-effective manner, with a better revenue profile than perhaps we would have thought two years ago.” GTB
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