It would be nice to have AT&T transform itself into a product innovator, but it won't happen and it's not critical to their success.
From a product standpoint, there's not a lot separating one long distance company from another. Once competition increases in local, cable/DTH Satellite, internet and cellular, these services too will be commodities when purchased individually.
The key is marketing and bundling. In a world of equals, the average consumer will buy from the company they trust, and the company that is best at wrapping all of the pieces together into a simple package.
AT&T has all of the pieces coming together: Long Distance, Local (perhaps bypassing the telcos with new fixed wireless technology), AT&T Wireless (formerly McCaw), Worldnet internet service, DirecTV (alliance with Hughes)
It will take some time, and probably a few more quarters of lower earnings, before AT&T is firing on all these cylinders, but when it starts to happen, per customer spending could increase from $20 to 40, 60, ??.
No telco or other company is better positioned in the medium to long term. |
