AT&T (T) Industry Analysis

Industry Analysis The telecom industry includes companies that provide telephony, cable and satellite television and internet services. The industry maintains and provides access to facilities that transmit data in various formats over multiple mediums. The telecom industry includes companies that provide telephony, cable and satellite television and internet services. The industry maintains and provides access to facilities that transmit data in various formats over multiple mediums. The industry as a whole is moving towards implementing 4th Generation Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) networks to provide fast, mobile and on-demand services that are capable of handling large amounts of data. 4G, a successor to 3G networks is an industry standard for wireless telecommunication that allows for faster communication on multiple mediums such as voice, data and video. Wireless Postpaid Monthly ARPU (2012) $46.96 $47.51 $49.92 $40.63 at&t verizon Sprint T. Mobile- Smartphone Market Share by Carriers* Other 13% AT&T T-Mobile 10% 27% Sprint 15% Verizon 35% *(As of 1QFY13) Subsidies With the launch of AT&T Next, Verizon's Edge and T-Mobile's JUMP, the carriers are attempting to reduce the number of devices they sell at a subsidized cost. All these services allow subscribers to upgrade devices at least once and in some cases, twice a year. The customers however, have to pay for the device as part of a 'service and device cost' until the upgrade Occurs. In Verizon's case the device also has to be at least 50% paid off based on the actual value of the device before an upgrade is allowed. There has been a wave of Mergers and acquisitions and attempted takeovers in recent years. The trend Acquisitions continues as companies try to acquire spectrum, expand their customer base and grow in a saturated market. o Sprint's acquisition of the remaining 50% of Clearwire for $14 billion followed by its sale of controlling stake to SoftBank Corp. O T-Mobile's acquisition of MetroPCS in 2013. o ith its failed bid to acquire T-Mobile in 2011, At&T is still interested in further acquisitions and is looking at Vodafone Wireless's European assets as a potential target. o On October 20, 2013, Crown Castle International Corp. and AT&T Inc. decided to enter into an agreement, which when completed gave Crown Castle exclusive rights to approximately 9,700 AT&T towers for $4.85 billion in cash. o Verizon Communications successfully raised $49 billion capital, the largest capital raise in history, to reach an agreement with Vodafone Pl to buy its 45% share in Verizon Wireless. o AT&T is also rumored to have examined the possibility of a takeover of Vodafone which will result in a new company with a market cap of $250 billion and over 500m subscribers worldwide. BIDNESS SOURCES: Company Data, SEC filings, Bloomberg Professional Services Etc. DISCLAIMER: Bidness Etc(TM) and related marks are owned by Bidness Etc. Any other trademarks appearing on this website are the property of their respective owners, and are not used to indicate the origin of goods or services offered or provided by Bidness Etc herein orto suggest approval for or affiliation with Bidness Etc.