AT&T's Bell System was once highly regarded as (and I'm sure many still consider them to be, today) a national resource. A treasure, I've even heard it called. It's financial health, along with its technological prowess, were both directly tied to such things as: national defense; the very economy that Bell Labs' technologies helped to foster; and providing the US of A with a sense of superior international presence in the world of communications (they didn't call it telecommunications quite yet, back then) that, allegedly, was unrivaled.
As I look at their competitive handicap today, and their present overall malaise as they scramble in what could only be described as their most desperate moves during the past hundred years, several scenarios cross my mind. They aren't pretty ones, and several of them, if fulfilled, can affect US all.
While T's dominance has eroded with the encroachment of competitors biting at their ankles and calves, T, still to this day, remains the center of gravity for this country's telecommunications framework. And many of the competitors, who have now grown up, were able to do so only through a form of parasitic attachment to Mumsy.
At what point does the Federal Government (for lack of a saner alternative, unless someone can offer one up... I'm all ears... ) step in to assess the health of this "national resource," and begin calling some of their moves? Why do I ask?
As we type, T finds itself having to make several pivotal tactical and strategic moves, both technological and financial, that can go either way for them, causing them to make some decisions that could make their dividend announcements (and their moves into and out of certain service sectors) pale, in comparison.
Who knows what they are capable of doing, next? I'm still waiting for them to top their ace move of all time, which was the $100 Billion-plus purchase and other investments in black coax. Maybe they'll now go ahead and spend another several hundred billion resurrecting telegraph.
Are concerns over national welfare, which IMO are keyed to T's financial health and future viability, warranted? Or, was this just a good opportunity for me to kill a few minutes while waiting for my ride back to Brooklyn?
Happy Holidays
FAC |
