AT&T Company Information
AT&T:
Rethink Possible.
Connecting you to your world, everywhere you live and work.
AT&T is bringing it all together for our customers, from revolutionary smartphones to next-generation TV services and sophisticated solutions for multi-national businesses.
For more than a century, we have consistently provided innovative, reliable, high-quality products and services and excellent customer care. Today, our mission is to connect people with their world, everywhere they live and work, and do it better than anyone else. We're fulfilling this vision by creating new solutions for consumers and businesses and by driving innovation in the communications and entertainment industry.
We're recognized as one of the leading worldwide providers of IP-based communications services to businesses. We also have the nation's fastest mobile broadband network and the largest international coverage of any U.S. wireless carrier, offering the most phones that work in the most countries; the largest Wi-Fi network in the United States based on branded and operated hotspots; and the largest number of total broadband connections in the United States.
And we're making huge advances in the entertainment and communications industry. For example, we've expanded our video offerings to include television services such as AT&T U-verse® TV and AT&T|DIRECTV. It's part of our "three-screen" integration strategy to deliver services across the three screens people rely on most — the mobile device, the PC and the TV.
As we continue to break new ground and deliver new solutions, we're focused on delivering the high-quality customer service that is our heritage.
Key Facts
We are the largest communications holding company in the world by revenue. Operating globally under the AT&T brand, we are:
- Proud to offer one of the world's most advanced and powerful global backbone networks, carrying 23.7 petabytes of data traffic on an average business day to nearly every continent and country, with up to 99.999 percent reliability.
- The nation's fastest mobile broadband network — and it's getting faster with 4G — serving millions of customers and enabling them to travel and communicate seamlessly with the best worldwide wireless coverage — offering the most phones that work in the most countries. Offering voice coverage in more than 220 countries, data roaming in more than 200 countries and mobile broadband in more than 130 countries.
- The only U.S. national service provider to offer a 100 percent IP-based television service with AT&T U-verse TV, which provides an exciting alternative to cable with a better DVR, better features and apps and a better TV experience.
- Managing the nation's largest Wi-Fi network (based on branded and operated sites) with more than 24,000 AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots, including locations in all 50 states, and access to more than 135,000 hot spots around the globe.
- One of the world's largest providers of IP-based communications services for businesses, with an extensive portfolio of Virtual Private Network (VPN), Voice over IP (VoIP) and other offerings—all backed by innovative security and customer support capabilities.
- Publishers and distributor of 1,250 AT&T Real Yellow Pages titles annually.
- A global leader in delivering a full portfolio of end-to-end reliability and highly secure network, voice, data and IP solutions to wholesale customers, and its service portfolio has been widely regarded by third parties as industry-leading.
- The parent of YP.com, a leading Internet Yellow Pages network that, when combined with AT&T Real Yellow Pages, receives more than 5 billion consumer searches a year.
- The leading U.S. provider of local and long distance voice services.
Corporate History
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. That was the foundation of the company that would become AT&T — a brand that has become synonymous with the best, most reliable telephone service in the world.
In 1984, through an agreement between the former AT&T and the U.S. Department of Justice, AT&T agreed to divest itself of its local telephone operations but retain its long distance, R&D and manufacturing arms. From this arrangement, SBC Communications Inc. (formerly known as Southwestern Bell Corp.) was born.
Twelve years later, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 triggered dramatic changes in the competitive landscape. SBC Communications Inc. established itself as a global communications provider by acquiring Pacific Telesis Group (1997), Southern New England Telecommunications (1998) and Ameritech Corp. (1999). In 2005, SBC Communications Inc. acquired AT&T Corp., creating the new AT&T.
With the acquisition of BellSouth in 2006, and the consolidated ownership of Cingular Wireless and YP.com, AT&T is positioned to lead our industry in one of its most significant transformations since the invention of the telephone more than 130 years ago.
U.S. Presence
We serve customers nationwide with a broad range of wireless voice and data services. We have the nation's fastest mobile broadband network and serve 95.5 million wireless subscribers. We hold spectrum licenses in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We also have the best worldwide coverage of any U.S. carrier with voice coverage in more than 220 countries, data roaming in more than 200 countries and mobile broadband in more than 130 countries.
We serve millions of customers, concentrated in 22 states, with wired services, including broadband, long distance and local voice.
Global Reach
Our customers work and live in virtually every country and territory in the world. We serve millions of enterprise and multinational business corporations on six continents.
We offer a variety of service plans that enable U.S.-based customers to stay connected to friends and work colleagues who are overseas. We also enable our customers to keep in touch when they travel outside the U.S.
With AT&T, customers have the freedom to make wireless calls using an internationally enabled phone on all seven continents and in more than 220 countries. We offer wireless data coverage in more countries than any U.S. carrier — with wireless data-roaming in more than 200 countries for laptops, hand-held devices and other data services and mobile broadband services in more than 130 countries. We also offer wireless service on more than 135 cruise ships worldwide.
Diversity
AT&T's century-long history of innovation is a story about people from all walks of life and all kinds of backgrounds coming together to improve the human condition. It is our diversity, coupled with an inclusive culture that welcomes all points of view - which makes us who we are: a great place to work, a desired business partner and a committed member of the communities we serve. Learn more about our people and AT&T diversity.
Consumer Services
AT&T's portfolio of services — perhaps the most robust in the marketplace — delivers choice, value and convenience across a range of options. Millions of consumers have chosen our comprehensive service bundles because of our competitive pricing and the convenience of a single bill for wired and wireless voice and data, broadband Internet, TV and messaging services.
We're also making the three-screen strategy a reality for customers. We have introduced a number of integrated, multi-screen services, and we'll be launching more soon.
View media kits on our consumer offerings:
Small Business Services
We serve millions of small business customers nationwide with a broad portfolio of communications services. We give business customers of all sizes access to one of the world's most advanced IP networks through the convergence of voice, data and video services.
Learn more about AT&T Small Business Products and Services
- Bundles
- Internet Access & Support
- Local Service
- Long Distance
- Wireless
- Establish New Service
- Special Offers
- Small Business Resource Center
View media kits on our Small Business offerings:
Global, National, Mid-Size, Regional and Government Portfolio
For our enterprise business customers, AT&T provides a single source for local, national, global and wireless voice and data services.
Our expansive portfolio also gives these customers access to advanced IP and traditional networking solutions for both voice and data. And customers can tap into our array of consulting and management experts for support on any element of network planning, design, deployment and ongoing management.
View media kits on our Enterprise offerings:
- Application Acceleration
- AT&T ForHealth
- AT&T Smart Grid
- Business Continuity Study
- Business Customer News
- BusinessDirect
- Digital Media Solutions
- Enterprise Hosting Services
- Enterprise Security
- Global Network Investments
- IP VPN
- Mobility Solutions
- Remote Infrastructure Management
- Synaptic Compute as a Service
- Synaptic Hosting
- Telepresence Solution
Wholesale Offerings
AT&T is a global leader in providing wholesale services to carriers, wireless service providers, cable providers, systems integrators, Internet service providers and content providers.
Networks
The AT&T network includes extensive wireless and wired access capabilities, as well as one of the world's most advanced and powerful IP backbones.
The AT&T global backbone network carries 23.7 petabytes of data traffic on an average business day.
Our backbone network carries a full range of IP-based services, including wireless data, business video, data and voice services, private line and wavelength traffic, as well as IP-based residential services and Internet access for AT&T's more than 17.8 million total broadband customers.
Our network also incorporates Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), which supports a full range of applications over a single IP network infrastructure with the highest levels of service quality.
To stay ahead of the ever-increasing demand for online video, photos, music and IP-based business applications, we recently switched on the nation's first coast-to-coast IP/MPLS network using new-generation routing technology that carries data at 40 Gbps. More than 75 percent of the IP traffic carried over the company's backbone network rides on this new-generation platform.
The AT&T global backbone network includes:
- MPLS-based services available to 182 countries over 3,800 service nodes.
- 38 Internet data centers across the globe.
- More than 886,000 worldwide fiber route miles.
Our industry-leading wireless network includes:
- AT&T has the nation's fastest mobile broadband network. And it's getting faster with 4G. HSPA is the high speed evolution of GSM/EDGE (Global System for Mobile Communication/Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution), which shares a common core network.
- AT&T's mobile broadband service footprint covers more than 80 percent of the U.S. population, including the top 100 U.S. markets.
- With AT&T's HSPA+ deployment and backhaul enhancements, followed by our planned deployment of LTE starting mid-year 2011, its customers will have access to best-in-class network speed and technology.
- Expanded backhaul connectivity planned to be deployed 2011 and 2012, enabling faster mobile broadband speeds when combined with our HSPA+ and planned LTE technology upgrades.
- AT&T has deployed HSPA+ technology and we began trials of LTE equipment in 2010, with commercial deployment expected to begin in mid-2011 — a timeline that coincides with the expected evolution of LTE equipment and device availability.
Our U.S. wired network capabilities encompass:
- 43.6 million access lines.
- 19.3 million wired broadband connections.
- Wi-Fi access to more than 188,000 hot spots spanning countries around the globe.
We're constantly working to deliver new capabilities and applications via our access network. For example, our U-verse service deployment is enhancing our wired access capabilities to deliver advanced IPTV services to residential customers.
Meaningful Innovation
AT&T Labs has a long history of innovation — a heritage that includes eight Nobel Prizes and thousands of patents issued or pending worldwide. We have fueled groundbreaking initiatives that have changed the direction of communications. Learn more about AT&T Labs innovations.
Community Support
Corporate social responsibility is integral to AT&T's culture; we continually engage in initiatives that enrich and strengthen our communities. Thanks to these efforts, we contributed $155 million through corporate-, employee- and AT&T Foundation-giving programs in 2009. In fact, the AT&T Foundation ranked as one of the most generous corporate foundations in the United States. Learn more about AT&T community and corporate social responsibility.
Industry Awards and Recognition
Top 50 Companies for Diversity, DiversityInc Magazine (2011)
AT&T ranked No. 4 on the DiversityInc Top 50 list in 2011 for its diversity and inclusion initiatives and is in the DiversityInc Hall of Fame. AT&T also garnered recognitions in the 2011 Top 10 Companies specialty lists including No. 1 for Blacks, No. 2 for Supplier Diversity, No. 3 for Recruitment and Retention, and No. 6 for Latinos.
2011 LearningElite Organizations
AT&T was recognized by Chief Learning Officer Magazine as No. 1 among 75 American companies named to its 2011 LearningElite Organizations for delivering exceptional learning and development programs. AT&T was also named the Editor's Choice in Business Performance Results for best aligning learning and development with business objectives.
Corporate University Xchange (2011)
AT&T was awarded the Corporate University Award for Excellence and Innovation under the leadership development category. The CorpU Xchange Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Corporate Learning recognize corporate and government learning organizations that create exciting, impactful programs that result in measurable improvements in employee and business performance.
Top Companies for Executive Women (2011)
AT&T was named one of the Top Companies by the National Association of Female Executives (NAFE) for its policies and practices encouraging women's advancement.
Top 50 Employers for Women's Engineers (2011)
AT&T was named one of the Top 50 Employers by Woman Engineer Magazine for providing a positive working environment for women.
GLAAD Award (2011)
AT&T received the Corporation of the Year Award by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance against Defamation (GLAAD) for its diversity and inclusive workforce practices.
40 Best Companies for Diversity (2010)
AT&T was named one of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity by Black Enterprise magazine for its board representation, employee base, senior management and supplier diversity.
America's Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprises (2010)
AT&T was recognized by Women's Business Enterprises (WBE) for being a world-class leader in the inclusion of women business enterprises in its supply chain. This is the only national award honoring corporations for world-class programs that create level playing fields for WBEs to compete for corporate contracts. AT&T has earned this recognition for 12 consecutive years since the list's inception
Best Places to Work (2010)
AT&T was recognized by the Human Rights Campaign for its treatment of LGBT employees. Since 2004, the company has received a perfect 100 percent score on the HRC's Corporate Equality Index for its fair treatment, including protection against discrimination, parity of health care benefits for domestic partners and other criteria.
Top 100 Most Military Friendly Employers (2004-2007, 2009, 2010)
AT&T was named one of the Top 100 Most Military Friendly Employers by G.I. Jobs Magazine for its dedication to supporting military veteran workforce and ensuring that reservist employees and their families continue to receive compensation when soldiers are called to active duty.
10 Best Corporations for Veteran-Owned Businesses (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010)
AT&T was recognized as one of the 10 Best Corporations for Veteran-Owned Businesses by Vetrepreneur Magazine for its unwavering support of veteran-owned businesses. This is one of the top honors in the disabled veteran business enterprise (DVBE) arena — only nine other companies received this recognition.
National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) (2010)
AT&T was recognized as Corporation of the Year for its exemplary achievements in the inclusion of Asian, black, Hispanic and native American-owned provider in its supply chain.
The Most Desirable Employers, BusinessWeek Magazine (2009)
AT&T was included among the overall 100 top ideal employers for recent graduates; rankings were based on feedback provided by more than 60,000 undergraduates surveyed by the Universum USA firm.
Computerworld Enterprise Intelligence Awards (2009)
AT&T received the Computerworld Enterprise Intelligence Award in the Customer Intelligence & Management category. The company was recognized for the emphasis it places on managing technology for the enterprise.
World's Most Admired Telecommunications Company, Fortune Magazine (1997 – 2000, 2002 – 2004, 2006, 2008 – 2009)
Fortune magazine named AT&T Inc. the Most Admired Company in the telecommunications industry. AT&T Inc. has been named No. 1 on the World's Most Admired list more than any other telecom company since the rankings were first published. AT&T was named America's Most Admired Telecommunications Company 10 times while Fortune magazine published that ranking, again exceeding any other telecom company.
Best Places to Launch a Career, BusinessWeek Magazine (2006 – 2009)
AT&T was listed among the corporations that have the highest reputations among college students and provide the best opportunities for young college graduates who are beginning their careers.
CIO 100 (2007 – 2009)
For the last three years, AT&T has been named to this list of organizations that exemplify the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology. In its winning projects, AT&T demonstrated extraordinary results and the value it places on technological innovation within its business.
ATLANTIC-ACM Carrier Excellence Awards (2009)
AT&T was named the winner of two Carrier Excellence Awards in the categories of Brand (ILEC/IXC) and Small and Medium Business (SMB) Voice Value at the 2009 ATLANTIC-ACM Summer Spree, hosted at the Harvard Club of Boston.
American Business Awards Information Technology Department of the Year (2009)
In 2009, the American Business Awards named AT&T's IT organization the Information Technology Department of the Year. AT&T IT was recognized for its work in creating technology solutions that transform business processes and market offerings in ways that create value and have a positive impact for AT&T's business, customers, and partners.
Billing & OSS World 2009 Excellence Award (2009)
The AT&T BusinessDirect® customer Web portal has been recognized with the Billing & OSS World 2009 Excellence Awards for Best Customer Care Solution. The annual awards recognize the leaders in the development and deployment of billing and operations support systems (OSS) technologies and solutions. Used by business customers to complete customer service transactions online, AT&T BusinessDirect enables customers to reroute network traffic in real time, test circuits, check network alarms, report service problems, place orders, pay bills electronically, and perform other customer service-related tasks.
Top 10 Internships, Vault Inc. (2007)
The AT&T Finance Summer Internship Program was named as one of America's Top 10 Internships based on multiple factors, including substantive work, pay, perks, selectivity, and the "resume radiance" factor.
Network World 200 (2001 – 2006)
AT&T Inc. ranked No. 1 among the top 200 networking companies in North America in 2005 and 2006, according to Network Worldmagazine. The company, formerly under the SBC Communications name, has been included in the top 10 of the list each year since 2001. The list recognizes networking vendors with solid financial performance and revenue growth.
Company of the Year, Forbes Magazine (2006)
AT&T was selected out of 400 companies for its exemplary leadership, innovation and execution. Other attributes were also considered, including financial metrics, Wall Street forecasts, corporate governance ratings and other public information.
CEO of the Year, Frost & Sullivan (2006)
Former AT&T Chairman and CEO Edward E. Whitacre received this honor for his outstanding leadership. He is one of the longest-reigning CEOs in the telecommunications industry, and is credited with transforming the smallest Baby Bell phone company into the nation's largest telecommunications firm.
Network World 10 Most Powerful Companies (2005 – 2006)
The company has been ranked No. 1 among Network World's 10 most powerful companies for two years running. The top network vendors were selected by reader survey responses, and Network Worldcited AT&T's financial performance, customer focus, and management as the reasons the company is one of the "power players" in networking.
InformationWeek 500 (2005 – 2008)
AT&T has ranked on InformationWeek's annual list of the 500 most innovative users of business technology from 2005-2008. The company has been recognized for its change-embracing culture, bottom-line efficiency, and eye for innovation.
Network World 50 Most Powerful People (2004 – 2006)
Edward E. Whitacre, Jr., former Chairman and CEO, has been one of Network World's 50 most powerful people since 2004, and in 2005 moved into the "Power Elite" category. This award recognizes industry leaders who exercise power in the networking industry (ranked on stature and visibility) and who have been identified as industry role models. Mr. Whitacre was commended for the company's financial success, technological innovations, and continued growth under his leadership.
Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leaders (2006, 2007, 2009)
Computerworld annually honors 100 top IT professionals who have led their organizations by mentoring and motivating employees; envisioning innovative solutions to business challenges; and effectively managing and executing IT strategies. AT&T's John Stankey, Andy Geisse, and Thaddeus Arroyo were named to this prestigious list in 2006, 2007, and 2009, respectively.
InfoWorld CTO 25 (2006)
AT&T's John Stankey was named one of InfoWorld's 25 top technology executives in 2006. The award honors technology professionals who have demonstrated leadership within their companies and in the IT community. Mr. Stankey was cited for his effort in the network integration following the SBC-AT&T merger.
AT&T has received a wide range of industry and national awards and other recognition. View a complete list of AT&T's citizenship and sustainability awards and honors and industry accolades.
Quick Facts
Global Headquarters
Dallas, Texas
Employees Worldwide
266,590
Recognition
AT&T By the Numbers
Ticker Symbol
NYSE: T
AT&T Inc. common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. A Fortune 500 company, AT&T is one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Leadership
Randall L. Stephenson, chairman and chief executive officer
2009 Reported Consolidated Revenue
$123 billion