AT&T’s stock price hit a 29-year low on Friday and continued to sink today as investors fled telecom stocks on reports that cleanups of lead-covered telephone cables could cost the industry tens of billions of dollars.
The losses were spurred by a Wall Street Journal investigation into lead-sheathed cables installed by phone companies across the US many decades ago.
The industry started phasing out lead in the 1950s, but the WSJ said it found evidence of more than 2,000 lead-covered cables and said there “are likely far more throughout the country.”
Fan-fucking-tastic. Y’all excited to bail out the telcos again?
The industry started phasing out lead in the 1950s, but the WSJ said it found evidence of more than 2,000 lead-covered cables and said there “are likely far more throughout the country.”
Fan-fucking-tastic. Y’all excited to bail out the telcos again?
But how can it be that there are still lead-covered cables everywhere? We already paid them billions of dollars in subsidies to rip out the plain old telephone cables in favor of fiber several times now. They would never just pocket those subsidies instead of actually modernizing the network! \s
Typically, the last mile is often not fiber. Telecoms are generally required to continue non-voip land line service. Its one of those regulations that, despite having good intentions, end up causing issues.
That’s not true anymore. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-19-72A1.pdf
Telecoms are generally required to continue non-voip land line service.
Nah, I can personally confirm that that’s no longer correct. My house didn’t have analog telephone service but still had a phone line running to it, until one day a few years ago I went outside and noticed that AT&T had taken the wire clear off the pole and left it laying in my yard. They clearly have no intention of ever providing such service in my area again, even if somebody wanted it.
lol, also, lmao.
However will they afford this?
New Street Research estimated that remediation could cost the telecom industry $60 billion
At&T alone had 120 billion in revenue in 2022 which was a bad year for them but God forbid we penalize a corporation, they’re job CREATORS don’t you know?
Driving by one of their stores the other day and thought to myself, “Who the hell uses AT&T anymore?!”
They’ve had shit service since before T-Mobile existed. Literally let a noone come from nowhere just gobble up their market share.
It’s super location specific. I’ve been lots of places where no one except AT&T subscribers had coverage.
I’ve been an AT&T customer for years, mostly out of necessity. They just offer the best all around service for my needs.I tried switching to T-Mo, but they have a lot of dead spots (especially along interstates) and has weaker signal strength in most buildings than AT&T. And I just refuse to use Verizon, but they’re in a similar situation.
That hasn’t been true for about 5 years. TMo bought and utilized a wide spectrum of wavelengths previously held for over the air television. If you haven’t tried them in the past few years, I’d give them another try. I went from AT&T to T-Mobile. I’m in the same never Verizon boat.
Believe it or not, wireless coverage isn’t the same everywhere.
Same here. I was paying $130/month to Comcast for 1000/35 and no data cap ($30 bump from the normal $100/month) and AT&T finally rolled fiber out to our street. While I don’t like them as a company it’s not like Comcast is better and now I get synchronous gig with no data caps for $80/month.
I’m so glad I live in a city that forces competition.
VoiceStream Wireless PCS was established in 1994 as a subsidiary of Western Wireless Corporation. In 1999, VoiceStream ventured out under the umbrella of parent company Western Wireless. Then in 2001, Deutsche Telekom purchased VoiceStream before launching the T-Mobile brand on Sept. 4, 2002.
Hardly a no one from nowhere
Now that they have some more competition, AT&T is shown for the shitty company it was.
They are going to use this as an excuse to finally have to get out of providing (POTS) land line service. Expect them to spin off a subsidiary that owns all this old infrastructure, declare bankruptcy, and either get a bail out to repair the cable of they convince the regulators to let them kill off POTS for good.
of course it did. I’m invested in it
RIP lil bub
Let the big three fall. Decentralize them and remove their overreaching control on the networks. All they do is sick money out of our pockets both directly and indirectly.
Neat. Buying more T stonks now.
