Now that the merger of AT&T and DirecTV has cleared regulatory hurdles, the newlyweds are going public with their first combo platter offering that pairs of AT&T wireless phone service with DirecTV satellite TV. Unfortunately, the more than 20 million current DirecTV customers are going to be left out in the cold on this announcement. [More]
dispatches from the death star
AT&T: $100M Fine For Throttling Unlimited Data Users Is “Unlawful,” “Coercive,” “Indefensible”
By 7.28.15
In June, the FCC proposed a potentially $100 million fine against AT&T for allegedly failing to disclose to its “unlimited” data plan subscribers the extent to which their data access could be throttled if they used too much of it in any given month. The company recently responded to the allegations, and let’s just say that AT&T isn’t exactly thrilled. [More]
AT&T Raising Activation Fees, Adding Activation Fee For New AT&T Next Users
By 7.22.15
Starting Aug. 1, activating a device on AT&T is going to get more expensive. The Death Star, perhaps power mad from its triumphant acquisition of DirecTV, has decided to not only raise activation fees for contract customers, but also to make its AT&T Next and Bring-Your-Own-Device plans less affordable by adding an activation fee for new customers. [More]
AT&T Still Trying To Wriggle Out Of Federal Throttling Lawsuit
By 5.29.15
Seven months after the Federal Trade Commission sued AT&T’s wireless division for allegedly misleading customers about “unlimited” data plans, and nearly two months after a judge denied AT&T’s attempt to dismiss the case, the Death Star is still trying to choke the government’s lawsuit into submission. [More]
AT&T Ditching 2-Year Contracts At Walmart & Other Retailers
By 5.21.15
In the latest move to nudge new customers into paying full price for their phones, AT&T is going to stop offering 2-year contracts through third party retail stores like Walmart and others. [More]
AT&T Claims That DirecTV Merger Will Allow It To Expand GigaPower Fiber Network
By 4.23.15
While we’ve been critical of the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger, the motivation behind that deal is clear: It would instantly add 10 million customers to Comcast’s bottom line and give the company control over cable/broadband access for the two largest markets in the country. The reasoning behind the less-scrutinized marriage of AT&T and DirecTV isn’t as cut-and-dry. [More]
AT&T To Pay $25M To Settle FCC Investigation Into Call Center ID Theft
By 4.8.15
FCC investigators have found that AT&T call center employees in Mexico, Colombia, and the Philippines illegally accessed and sold personal data — including names and (mostly partial) Social Security numbers — for around 280,000 customers. Thus, the telecom giant has agreed to settle with the Federal Communications Commission for $25 million, the Commission’s largest privacy and data security enforcement ever (at least until the next mammoth, inevitable cock-up). [More]
AT&T Fails At Getting FTC’s Throttling Lawsuit Dismissed
By 4.1.15
Back in October, the Federal Trade Commission sued AT&T’s wireless division for allegedly misleading customers by charging for “unlimited” plans but then reducing data speeds after users passed certain monthly thresholds. AT&T subsequently asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the FTC lacks the authority to bring this type of lawsuit. Yesterday, a federal judge disagreed and sided against AT&T. [More]
What We Know About AT&T/DirecTV’s Proposed Wireless Broadband Service
By 3.3.15
Last fall, an AT&T exec claimed that if his company was allowed to merge with DirecTV it could deploy some sort of wireless data service that delivered around 15Mbps to rural customers, but since then there has been very little talk of what this service would actually look like or how and where it would be deployed. But a dig through regulatory filings on the merger turns up a little more info. [More]
FCC Not Scared Of AT&T’s Plan To Sue Over New Neutrality Rules
By 2.6.15
Earlier this week, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler confirmed his intention to ask his fellow commissioners to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service, which would give the FCC more authority to regulate it and prohibit anti-consumer practices like throttling and blocking of data. AT&T is already gearing up for a suit to stop this change, but the FCC is apparently not terribly worried. [More]
AT&T Not Worried That Competition Is Causing More Customers To Go Elsewhere
By 12.9.14
This morning, AT&T’s Chief Financial Officer admitted that competition from smaller providers like Sprint and T-Mobile has resulted in a slight uptick in customer defections, but also said the company is not concerned because AT&T continues to pick up new users. [More]
How Dropping Phone, TV Service From AT&T Bundle Resulted In 3-Year Collection Hell For Customer
By 12.5.14
Cable and telecom companies love to sell you on the convenience and affordability of bundles combining phone, TV and Internet service onto one bill. But what they don’t tell you is that shedding that bundle could end up in a billing nightmare. [More]
AT&T Promises 15Mbps Wireless Broadband To Rural Customers After DirecTV Merger
By 9.12.14
AT&T has dangled a big carrot out there in its attempt to lead regulators to sign off on the company’s merger with DirecTV. If the deal happens, AT&T says it could bring 15Mbps wireless data service (bundled with satellite TV of course) to rural America in 2015. [More]
Why Isn’t America Freaking Out About AT&T/DirecTV Merger — And Should We Be?
By 9.5.14
While pretty much everyone is scrutinizing the pending mega-merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable, not much attention is being paid to the possible marriage of the country’s second-largest wireless and pay-TV companies. And that leaves us with two big questions: What, if anything, makes these two mergers so different? And should we be more worried about a unified AT&T and DirecTV than we are? [More]
AT&T Says DirecTV Merger Will Save Money, But Not For Customers
By 6.25.14
While the folks at AT&T and DirecTV try to claim that their proposed merger is different from the pending marriage of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, both deals have one bit of double-talk in common, with the companies all saying their respective deals will help them be more efficient and save money while no one is willing to commit to passing those savings on to customers. [More]
New Amazon Phone Will Reportedly Be An AT&T Exclusive
By 6.17.14
Seven years ago, AT&T scored millions of new customers by being the only U.S. wireless provider to offer the Apple iPhone. That exclusive has long since faded into memory and the iPhone is no longer the market dominator it once was. But it looks like AT&T might be hoping that lightning strikes twice, as a new report claims that the Death Star will be the sole carrier for Amazon’s rumored smartphone and/or sex toy. [More]
