AT&T Making Big Move to Spectrum-Based Platforms

In an important strategy shift, AT&T is making a move to dramatically boost the amount of revenue it earns from spectrum-related platforms, and consequently decreasing its exposure to competition from fixed network supplier competition and revenues.

The big changes, assuming acquisitions of DirecTV, Iusacell and Nextel Mexico are approved, will be to significantly alter its customer base and revenue sources, shifting even more its revenue away from fixed network sources and towards spectrum platforms.

“Our transactions with DIRECTV and Mexican wireless companies Iusacell and Nextel Mexico will make us a very different company, said AT&T CEO, Randall Stephenson. “After we close DIRECTV, our largest revenue stream will come from business-related accounts , followed by U.S. TV and broadband, U.S. consumer mobility and then international mobility and TV.”

Consider the magnitude of the changes. In 2014, AT&T reported earning nearly 60 percent of total revenue from mobile services. AT&T meanwhile earned about a quarter of its revenue from business customers.

Consumer landline revenue was less than 20 percent of total.

Assuming AT&T’s acquisitions of Iusacell, Nextel Mexico and DirecTV are approved, AT&T will earn about 45 percent of total revenue from business customers and about 20 percent from consumer mobility services.

About 30 percent of revenue would be earned from U.S. consumer high speed access and video entertainment.

For perhaps the first time, AT&T revenue would be driven by business accounts, not consumer services.

For the first time, AT&T would emerge as a leader in the subscription video market.

Contributions from the mobility segment would not wane, but AT&T would be far less exposed to competition in the consumer mobile segment.

All of that has key implications. AT&T will reduce reliance on U.S. market revenues and consumer “communications” revenues, to a significant extent, with a bigger reliance on video entertainment.

One might argue that diversification lessens the threat AT&T faces from cable TV, T-Mobile US and Sprint, CLECs, Google Fiber and other emerging independent ISPs.