AT&T to invest in 5G, fiber in 2023 with help from unnamed partners

January 25, 2023 at 11:16 AM EST

With the help of an unnamed partner, AT&T plans to aggressively ramp up its investments in 5G and fiber networks.

AT&T’s plan for 2023 is to continue to invest heavily in building 5G infrastructure and fiber networks with the help of an unidentified partner.

Reports surfaced in October that the carriers had begun discussions to form a joint venture with an infrastructure partner that would invest billions of dollars to help AT&T aggressively build out its fiber-optic network. The carrier was reportedly working with Morgan Stanley to bring its infrastructure partners to the negotiating table. AT&T confirmed the plans on his fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call Wednesday morning, but didn’t name the partners.

AT&T CEO John Stankey said the partnership already established behind the scenes will help the company “scale and move faster,” adding that the partnership will give AT&T more flexibility and options. I said I see it as another tool.

“We have been quietly doing a fair amount of work in parallel, so the partnership is already being built with a management team in place. [and] Markets we enter [with] We set up the infrastructure and systems and have them ready for use,” Stankey said.

The CEO said the carrier is on track to cover 30 million consumer and business locations with fiber by the end of 2025. AhT&T’s 2022 full-year fiber net add-ons surpassed 1.2 million, making AT&T fiber net add-ons over 1 million for the fifth consecutive year. “Where we are building fiber, we continue to win … our fiber subscribers now outnumber non-fiber subscribers and his DSL subscribers,” he added.

[Related: AT&T Channel Chief: ‘We’re Going To Be Leaning In Very Intensely’]

2022 was the most profitable year ever for AT&T’s mobility business. His CEO of Carrier expects the trend to continue in 2023 as the company benefits from the investments it has made over the past two-and-a-half years.

“Our goal is to deploy spectrum in an efficient and supportive manner. [5G] Increased traffic. In markets deploying mid-band 5G, his 25% of traffic in these areas already utilizes that spectrum,” he said.

AT&T reported total postpaid net additions of 1.104 million subscribers in the fourth quarter. The postpaid phone business added 656,000, adding nearly 2.9 million postpaid phones for the full year. Stankey said the results represent AT&T’s best 10 quarters of wireless growth in more than 10 quarters.

Business Wired Services revenues declined 4.4% during the quarter to $5.64 billion, compared with $5.9 billion a year ago. Carriers attribute the decline as demand for traditional voice and data services declined and was replaced by mobility and collaboration solutions. Wireline business revenue decreased 7.4% to $162 million from $174 million in the quarter, and wireline services revenue decreased 4.5% to $54.7 million from $573 million a year ago. billion dollars.

Pascal Desroches, CFO of AT&T, said in 2022 that he does not expect wireline revenues to increase in the near term and is looking to 2024 for stabilization.

AT&T did not classify its Business Solutions segment in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, revenue from business wireless services increased 7.1% to $3.2 billion from $3.14 billion a year ago, which AT&T attributes to growth in 5G and fiber.

Revenues from the Dallas-based carrier’s mobility segment totaled $21.5 billion during the quarter, up 1.7% from $21.15 billion in the year-ago quarter. His overall telecom business, which includes high-speed internet, video and traditional voice services, increased slightly during the quarter to $30.37 billion, compared to his $30.21 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022. became.

Total operating revenues for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2022 were $31.34 billion, up slightly from $31.10 billion for the quarter a year ago. AT&T said he reported revenue of $120.74 billion in 2022 as a whole, down 9.9% from his $130.04 billion in 2021.

However, the company reported a net loss for the fourth quarter and full year due to higher operating expenses related to non-cash goodwill impairments, asset divestments and restructuring charges totaling $26.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022. . A loss of $23.57 billion for the quarter leads to a net loss of $8.73 billion for the full 2022.

AT&T’s diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2022 was 61 cents, up from 56 cents a year ago. AT&T reported full-year 2022 diluted earnings per share of $2.57, down 2.3% compared to $2.63 in 2021.