AT&T

What AT&T does

AT&T is a publicly traded U.S. telecommunications company (NYSE: T) headquartered in Dallas with a planned relocation to Plano, TX by H2 2028. Founded in 1877 as Bell Telephone Company, AT&T serves more than 100 million U.S. consumer and business customers across wireless, fiber broadband, and public-safety communications, ranking third among U.S. carriers with 120.1 million postpaid subscribers. The company operates a 5G Standalone network architecture with cloud-native core, Open RAN infrastructure, fiber-to-the-premises broadband reaching 32 million locations across 32 states (targeting 60 million by 2030), and dedicated FirstNet public-safety infrastructure serving 30,000+ agencies. Sub-brands include Cricket Wireless (prepaid), AT&T Fiber, AT&T Internet Air (5G fixed wireless), OneConnect (bundled service), and amiGO (family/kids devices).

The company's revenue model is anchored in subscription recurring streams: postpaid and prepaid wireless plans ($30-$80/line/month), AT&T Fiber residential broadband ($35-$135/month for 300 Mbps to 5 GIG), Internet Air 5G fixed wireless ($55/month), OneConnect converged bundles ($90-$225/month), FirstNet federal contracts, connected-car data plans, and enterprise IoT/Network APIs. Hardware sales of smartphones and accessories, plus dividend distributions (approximately 3.8% yield, $45B+ planned shareholder returns for 2026-2028), round out the model. Distribution spans company-owned retail stores, Cricket Wireless's 4,000+ locations, att.com e-commerce, an AI-powered self-serve mobile app, dealer/authorized retailers, enterprise field sales, and the Aduna network API marketplace.

AT&T's technology stack emphasizes AI-driven network operations, including the first AI-native RAN call (20% throughput improvement), 30 specialized telco AI models with RelationalAI, a GenAI-powered mobile app, multi-agent orchestration delivering 90% cost reduction, and partnerships with Ericsson, Intel, Cisco, Nvidia, AMD, AWS/Amazon Leo, and AST SpaceMobile. Recent strategic actions include the $5.75B Lumen Mass Markets fiber acquisition (closed Feb 2026), a $23B EchoStar spectrum acquisition (pending FCC approval), a $250B five-year infrastructure commitment, and a $2B FirstNet federal upgrade deal.

Name

AT&T

Legal name

AT&T Intellectual Property

Website

https://att.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1877

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

AT&T is a publicly traded U.S. wireless and fiber broadband carrier serving more than 100 million consumer, business, and public-safety customers across its 5G and FirstNet networks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wireless and Broadband Telecommunications

NAICS

Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (517112), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (51711)

SIC

Radiotelephone Communications (4812)

akta.pro primary industry

Wireless ISPs (WISPs) & Fixed Wireless Access Providers (HDAIADAD)

Keywords

• Wireless telecommunications
• Fiber broadband internet
• Public safety network
• Connected car services
• Enterprise IoT connectivity

Headquarters

HQ city

Dallas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Wireless Service Revenue: Monthly recurring subscription revenue from postpaid and prepaid wireless services including unlimited plans, device financing, and international roaming add-ons. Includes Cricket Wireless prepaid subscribers.
2. Fiber Broadband Revenue: Monthly recurring revenue from AT&T Fiber residential and business internet services, ranging from 300Mbps to 5Gbps speeds. Fiber revenue grew 17% year-over-year to $8.6 billion in recent quarter.
3. FirstNet Public Safety Contracts: Federal emergency network contracts with the U.S. Department of Commerce's NTIA and First Responder Network Authority. AT&T receives $2 billion deal for FirstNet upgrades while committing $1 billion in network improvements.
4. Connected Car / IoT Services: Monthly data plans for connected vehicles including AT&T Connected Car at $15/month for unlimited wireless with eligible plans, and IoT connectivity services for enterprises and smart devices.
5. Device Hardware Sales: Revenue from smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, and accessory sales through retail stores and e-commerce, including trade-in credit programs and device installment plans.
6. Dividend Income: Shareholder returns through quarterly dividend distributions. Stock offers approximately 3.8% dividend yield. Company plans to return $45 billion+ to shareholders during 2026-2028.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

AT&T provides nationwide wireless 5G mobile service, residential and business fiber broadband (up to 5 GIG), 5G fixed wireless home internet (AT&T Internet Air), the FirstNet dedicated public safety broadband network, connected car/IoT connectivity, and converged wireless-plus-fiber bundled subscriptions. The company also sells smartphones, accessories, and home networking equipment through retail stores, e-commerce, the Cricket Wireless dealer network, and enterprise sales channels.

Product overview

AT&T operates as a diversified telecommunications company offering a platform-plus-services architecture. The core consumer portfolio includes AT&T Wireless (mobile wireless with Unlimited Your Way plan tiers from $30-$80/line), AT&T Fiber (residential fiber internet up to 5 GIG from $35-$95/month), and AT&T Internet Air (5G fixed wireless from $55/month). These services can be bundled through AT&T OneConnect (combined wireless and internet starting at $90/month) or AT&T 55+ Bundle (for customers 55+). AT&T also operates FirstNet and FirstNet Fusion for public safety communications. Specialized offerings include AT&T Connected Car (in-vehicle Wi-Fi), AT&T Phone (VoIP home phone), and amiGO Jr. devices for children. The company is expanding into AI-powered services including a redesigned mobile app with GenAI assistant and specialized telecom AI models.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cricket Wireless: AT&T's prepaid wireless subsidiary offering affordable phone plans without annual contracts
• AT&T Fiber
• AT&T Internet Air
• OneConnect
• AT&T amiGO
• FirstNet
• AT&T ActiveArmor
• AT&T Turbo

Products and services

• AT&T Wireless (Unlimited Your Way 2.0 plans) Mobile wireless service offering multiple unlimited plan tiers (Value 2.0, Extra 2.0, Premium 2.0, Elite 2.0) with 5G connectivity, hotspot data, international coverage in 20-210+ destinations, and ActiveArmor security. Targets individual consumers, families, and small businesses.
• AT&T Fiber Residential and business fiber optic internet service delivering symmetric speeds from 300 Mbps to 5 GIG, with the 5 GIG tier including a Wi-Fi 7 gateway. Recognized as Ookla's fastest U.S. home internet for four consecutive years.
• AT&T Internet Air Fixed wireless home internet delivered over AT&T's 5G network, with unlimited data, self-setup, and a $55/month price point. Targets households in areas without fiber availability.
• AT&T OneConnect Bundled subscription service combining unlimited mobile connectivity with gigabit home internet into one all-in monthly bill. Tiers: Individual ($90/mo, 1 line + 1 Gig fiber), Duo ($120/mo, 2 lines + fiber), Family ($225/mo, up to 10 lines + fiber; includes tablet and watch lines).
• FirstNet Dedicated nationwide public safety broadband network providing mission-critical connectivity with priority and preemption for over 30,000 first responder agencies. Built on 3GPP and APCO P25 standards.
• FirstNet Fusion
• AT&T Connected Car
• AT&T 55+ Bundle
• AT&T amiGO Jr. Phone Carrier-designed kid's smartphone developed in partnership with Samsung, with parental controls via the amiGO app: location sharing, Safe Zones, and School Mode for screen-time management.
• AT&T Phone (VoIP home phone)
• AT&T Prepaid
• Cricket Wireless (prepaid sub-brand)
• AT&T Internet Backup
• AT&T Network API Accelerator
• AT&T AI-Powered Mobile App GenAI-powered flagship mobile application enabling customers to shop, manage connectivity services, access device controls, view usage insights, and access customer support from a single platform. Targets 100+ million U.S. families.
• AT&T Telecom AI Models (with RelationalAI) 30 specialized telecom AI models developed with RelationalAI and trained on industry standards to improve network operations, addressing limitations of general-purpose AI in telecom-specific tasks.
• AT&T ActiveArmor

Quantifiable outcome

• Fiber revenue growth of 17% year-over-year to $8.6 billion
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability10 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EricssoncoreTechnology or Integration · 6 March 2026$14 billion five-year network overhaul involving replacement of Nokia radios, implementation of open RAN, and cloud RAN adoption. Over 50% of Nokia radio swap completed. AT&T achieving first AI-native RAN call using Intel Xeon 6 SoC with Ericsson collaboration. On track to run 70% of network traffic on open-capable systems by year-end.
• IntelcoreTechnology or Integration · 3 March 2026Collaboration on AI-native RAN call using Intel Xeon 6 SoC achieving 20% throughput improvement vs legacy link adaptation. Intel is currently AT&T's preferred cloud RAN platform, though AT&T keeps options open for Nvidia, AMD, and TPUs as part of hardware-independent strategy.
• GSMAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 March 2026AT&T and AMD serve as founding supporters of GSMA's Open Telco AI initiative at MWC26 Barcelona. AT&T releasing open telco models trained on publicly available data; AMD providing GPU compute capacity. Initiative addresses performance gap where general-purpose AI underperforms on telecom-specific tasks, as only 16% of telecom GenAI deployments applied to network operations.
• AdunaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 25 February 2026AT&T participates in Aduna's standardized network API coverage across U.S. market alongside T-Mobile and Verizon. API services include Number Verification and SIM Swap Detection for secure customer authentication and fraud prevention.
• AST SpaceMobilecoreTechnology or Integration · 22 February 2026Satellite connectivity partnership for direct-to-device broadband. AT&T to launch beta satellite connectivity via AST SpaceMobile partnership in 2026. BlueBird satellite array may enable broadband speeds to smartphones in dead zones. AST has $1.2 billion in revenue commitments with 50+ network operator partnerships.
• CiscocoreTechnology or Integration · 20 February 2026Commercial launch of 5G Standalone-native IoT platform integrating AT&T's nationwide 5G SA core with Cisco Mobility Services Platform (IoT Control Center and Converged Core). Provides programmable network capabilities including network slicing and application-aware performance. Cisco collaboration also on AI-driven IoT combining AT&T IoT network core with Cisco Mobility Services Platform and Nvidia-powered Cisco AI Grid.
• GigsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 18 February 2026Sezzle BNPL company partnered with Gigs to launch unlimited 5G mobile plan operating on AT&T's network. Plan available at $29.99/month for Sezzle app users, targeting increased user engagement.
• SamsungcoreTechnology or Integration · 8 February 2026Launch of amiGO Jr. Phone, first carrier-designed smartphone for kids built with Samsung Galaxy A16 hardware. Includes parental controls via amiGO app with location sharing, Safe Zones, and School Mode. AT&T also partners with Samsung on Galaxy S26 series satellite communication support.
• Amazon (AWS and Amazon Leo)coreTechnology or Integration · 4 February 2026Multi-faceted collaboration including: migration of AT&T workloads to AWS Outposts; strengthening fiber connectivity between AWS data centers; leveraging Amazon Leo's low Earth orbit satellite network to extend connectivity to underserved areas. Partnership showcased at MWC 2026.

Scale indicators22 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Direct peers

• Verizon: Verizon is AT&T's closest direct competitor, operating wireless (146.9M postpaid subscribers) and fiber (Fios) services across overlapping U.S. markets. Both companies compete head-to-head in consumer wireless, enterprise, 5G, fiber, and spectrum auctions (e.g., C-band), with similar converged-network strategies.
• T-Mobile US: T-Mobile is AT&T's primary wireless competitor with 142.4M postpaid subscribers, leading the U.S. market on 5G marketing, prepaid (Metro by T-Mobile), and increasingly fixed wireless access. T-Mobile is majority-owned by Deutsche Telekom and competes directly with AT&T on consumer wireless pricing, postpaid share, and 5G coverage.
• Comcast (Xfinity): Comcast/Xfinity is AT&T's largest cable broadband and convergence competitor, offering home internet, mobile (via Verizon MVNO), and bundled video/phone services. It competes directly with AT&T Fiber and AT&T OneConnect bundles in overlapping geographies and is a key alternative for consumer broadband.
• Charter Communications (Spectrum): Charter's Spectrum is a major cable broadband competitor to AT&T Fiber in overlapping U.S. markets, also offering Spectrum Mobile wireless via Verizon MVNO. It directly competes on home internet speed, converged bundles, and pricing for mass-market consumers.
• Lumen Technologies: Lumen was AT&T's $5.75B acquisition target (Mass Markets fiber business). Remaining Lumen enterprise/wholesale fiber operations and ongoing enterprise/government fiber services overlap with AT&T's enterprise connectivity and fiber expansion strategy in similar markets.
• Frontier Communications: Frontier is a pure-play fiber broadband operator (now being acquired by Verizon) competing with AT&T Fiber in ILEC territories across the U.S. It targets similar suburban/rural fiber markets where AT&T's OneConnect and fiber expansion plans overlap.
• Cox Communications: Cox is the third-largest U.S. cable broadband operator and a long-standing AT&T competitor in residential internet, video, and (recently) mobile wireless. It competes with AT&T Fiber in overlapping markets and is reportedly considering mobile network expansion.

Emerging players

• EchoStar / Dish Network: EchoStar (parent of Dish and Boost Mobile) is selling $23B of spectrum to AT&T while also operating as a greenfield 5G wireless competitor. It represents a niche but emerging wireless player whose spectrum assets and competitive posture materially affect AT&T's 5G capacity and competitive dynamics.

Broad incumbents

• Deutsche Telekom: Deutsche Telekom is the global parent of T-Mobile US and a major integrated telecom incumbent in Europe. It is comparable as a broad incumbent in the same industry category (integrated telecom carrier) and its T-Mobile US ownership makes it AT&T's most relevant global peer.
• Vodafone Group: Vodafone is a global integrated telecom incumbent with wireless, broadband, and enterprise services across Europe and Africa. It is comparable as a broad incumbent in telecom services (similar converged operator model), though geographically distinct from AT&T's U.S.-centric footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat8 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ATT
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/ATT
• Facebookfacebook.com/ATT
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/att
• Instagraminstagram.com/att

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A35 records

Investments66 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AT&T