AT&T, Inc.
(
T
) announced the expansion of its wireless broadband services by
installing Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) in New Orlean's
Central Business District, Convention Center and the French
Quarter. Through the DAS system installation the company will be
able to enhance wireless capacity management in heavy traffic
areas. The company expects to facilitate network capacity by
building 11 cell sites in the busy areas of New Orleans
AT&T is experiencing strong momentum in its wireless
broadband businesses. The company boasts the best Internet speeds
in the industry as it is the only U.S. carrier that provides 4G
networks through both Long Term Evolution (LTE) and High-Speed
Packet Access Plus (HSPA+) technologies.
AT&T initially rolled out LTE networks late last summer
that went on to become the benchmark of mobile technology and the
life-blood for operators across the world. AT&T 4G LTE
service is currently available in 103 markets with more than 150
million users in the U.S. The company aims to reach about 250
million people by 2013-end and 300 million by the end of 2014.
Further, the company's offers Mobile Share plans, which
connects more than one device to its data plan boosting its data
services.
We remain optimistic about AT&T's growth prospects, driven
by subscriber accretion, higher smartphones adoption, LTE mobile
broadband network, iPhone sales and U-verse expansion that will
lead to improved revenue growth.
The company's foray into cloud computing and hotel Wi-Fi
businesses is expected to lead to better profitability. The other
positive attributes of the company include a strategic
realignment initiative and a healthy financial profile. However,
persistent access line losses, competitive pressures from peers
like
Verizon Communications
(
VZ
) and regulatory issues will likely weigh on the stock in the
coming days.
AT&T retains a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). For the long term, we
have our Neutral recommendation on the stock.
AT&T INC (T): Free Stock Analysis Report
VERIZON COMM (VZ): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment
Research