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AT&T Seeks FCC Approval to Discontinue 13 Legacy Services
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U.S. telecom behemoth, AT&T Inc. (T - Free Report) has sought permission from U.S. telecom regulator, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to shut down the 13 legacy TDM (Time-division multiplexing) services of its wholly owned subsidiary – Southwestern Bell Telephone Company.
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company operates in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and parts of Illinois. The service is expected to shut down effective Feb 28, 2017, subject to FCC approval.
The decision to terminate the services stems from lack of demand. Moreover, AT&T currently has no subscriptions for these services and has witnessed no demand for the same over the past two years.
The services to be shut down include Telegraph Bridging Four-Wire Capability, Voice-grade Active Telemetry and Alarm Bridging Split Band Capability. Telegraph Bridging Four-Wire Capability offers bridging functions on a telegraph grade circuit that connect three or more customer-designated building in a multipoint arrangement. Voice-grade Active Telemetry and Alarm Bridging Split Band Capability is a Telemetry and Alarm bridging network which divides the voice band into two portions, one for each direction of transmission.
Winding Up
Service discontinuation has become a growing trend in the wireline segment of the telecom industry. Telecom service providers are moving toward IP-based networks as an increasing number of enterprise customers are opting for IP-enabled cloud services.
As for AT&T, the telco has earlier requested the FCC for permission to discontinue a series of legacy services including collect calling, person-to-person calling, bill to third party, Busy Line Verification, Busy Line Interruption and International Directory Assistance in Jun 2016.
Apart from AT&T, national telecom carriers like Sprint Corp. (S - Free Report) and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ - Free Report) have opted for similar service discontinuation. Verizon seek the FCC’s nod to stop providing postpaid calling card and personal 800 services while Sprint asked to discontinue long-distance voice services. Level 3 Communications Inc. has sought permission from the FCC to discontinue its legacy voice services based on outdated TDM (time division multiplexing) technology.
Price Performance
Shares of AT&T was almost in line with the Zacks categorized U.S. Wireless National industry in the past one year. The stock has gained 23.10% but failed to beat the industry mark of 23.71%.
We believe that the lack of demand for such legacy services might have affected the telco’s overall growth, leading to the below-par performance. AT&T currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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AT&T Seeks FCC Approval to Discontinue 13 Legacy Services
U.S. telecom behemoth, AT&T Inc. (T - Free Report) has sought permission from U.S. telecom regulator, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to shut down the 13 legacy TDM (Time-division multiplexing) services of its wholly owned subsidiary – Southwestern Bell Telephone Company.
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company operates in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and parts of Illinois. The service is expected to shut down effective Feb 28, 2017, subject to FCC approval.
The decision to terminate the services stems from lack of demand. Moreover, AT&T currently has no subscriptions for these services and has witnessed no demand for the same over the past two years.
The services to be shut down include Telegraph Bridging Four-Wire Capability, Voice-grade Active Telemetry and Alarm Bridging Split Band Capability. Telegraph Bridging Four-Wire Capability offers bridging functions on a telegraph grade circuit that connect three or more customer-designated building in a multipoint arrangement. Voice-grade Active Telemetry and Alarm Bridging Split Band Capability is a Telemetry and Alarm bridging network which divides the voice band into two portions, one for each direction of transmission.
Winding Up
Service discontinuation has become a growing trend in the wireline segment of the telecom industry. Telecom service providers are moving toward IP-based networks as an increasing number of enterprise customers are opting for IP-enabled cloud services.
As for AT&T, the telco has earlier requested the FCC for permission to discontinue a series of legacy services including collect calling, person-to-person calling, bill to third party, Busy Line Verification, Busy Line Interruption and International Directory Assistance in Jun 2016.
Apart from AT&T, national telecom carriers like Sprint Corp. (S - Free Report) and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ - Free Report) have opted for similar service discontinuation. Verizon seek the FCC’s nod to stop providing postpaid calling card and personal 800 services while Sprint asked to discontinue long-distance voice services. Level 3 Communications Inc. has sought permission from the FCC to discontinue its legacy voice services based on outdated TDM (time division multiplexing) technology.
Price Performance
Shares of AT&T was almost in line with the Zacks categorized U.S. Wireless National industry in the past one year. The stock has gained 23.10% but failed to beat the industry mark of 23.71%.
We believe that the lack of demand for such legacy services might have affected the telco’s overall growth, leading to the below-par performance. AT&T currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Best Place to Start Your Stock Search
Today, you are invited to download the full list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buy" stocks – absolutely free of charge. Since 1988, Zacks Rank #1 stocks have nearly tripled the market, with average gains of +26% per year. Plus, you can access the list of portfolio-killing Zacks Rank #5 "Strong Sells" and other private research. See these stocks free >>