pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
 ·Comcast
| reply to cmaenginsb
Re: Another Northpoint
said by cmaenginsb  :
The bankruptcy court auctioned off the assets piecemeal. AT&T ended up with the DSLAMs and other equipment but not the right to continue to service on the lines.
That's still very stupid of AT&T... how long would it have taken for them to check to see if they could legally run service on the lines they got from Northpoint? Surely it would have involved less cost than buying the assets and finding out they got a bunch of expensive paperweights instead.
AT&T really needs to take an "Al Dunlap" approach to saving its skin... kill all the non-profitable divisions... or else.
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DRM == Doesn't Read MP3s |
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airhockey
Got Airhockey?
Premium
join:2001-03-01
San Jose, CA | The problem is ATT has only non profitable divisions left. They sold the only one that has been making them money ATT Broadband. |
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Jim Gurd
Premium
join:2000-07-08
Plymouth, MI
·Comcast
| reply to pnh102
said by pnh102 :
AT&T really needs to take an "Al Dunlap" approach to saving its skin... kill all the non-profitable divisions... or else.
I don't know about that. "Chainsaw Al" destroyed Sunbeam with shady accounting practices like stuffing the pipline with inventory and booking sales months in advance of actually delivering the merchandise. |
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richb01803
Rich
join:2001-02-14
02100
| reply to airhockey
AT&T will be dissolved
said by airhockey :
The problem is ATT has only non profitable divisions left. They sold the only one that has been making them money ATT Broadband.
Sounds just like Digital Equipment Corporation circa 10 years ago. The hard drive group went to Quantum, the networking group went to Cisco, the chip-fab went to Intel.
The core group left was something they'd now call "professional services". Seems like every company thinks there are huge profits to be made in consulting.
But that only works if you've got the consultants attached to complicated proprietary technology that you can lock customers onto an upgrade treadmill. The folks at Compaq only figured that out after blowing a huge wad of money buying up the gutted shell of DEC, minus its crown jewels.
I guess management at most companies, when faced with a dire cash crunch, will sell off the crown jewels one at a time rather than enter bankruptcy. Of late, though, it's becoming evident that those who have tried bankruptcy on for size are keeping their firms intact, perhaps to live another day.
AT&T has nothing left. They are as relevant today as DEC was in 1995. Doesn't take a crystal ball to see what's in store for them: absorption into some other phone company. |
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KoolMoe
Aw Man
Premium
join:2001-02-14
Annapolis, MD
clubs:
 ·Verizon FIOS
 ·Speakeasy
| I disagree that they're irrelevant - they have a huge phone switching system. However, they may be made irrelevant if they don't keep on top of VOIP.
If AT&T is focusing on local service, then partnering with Covad would make good sense so they can offer DSL with their POTS service.
And DEC may have sold off the 'crown jewels', but they retained a LOT of intellectual property and patents (the Alpha being a big one), which did make them a fairly valuable company for Compaq to aquire...
Though I agree they overpaid.
I also agree AT&T's future is cloudy, but don't think it's as doomed as you postulate...
KM |
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rockjock
@65.103.x.x
| reply to Jim Gurd
Re: Another Northpoint
"I don't know about that. "Chainsaw Al" destroyed Sunbeam with shady accounting practices like stuffing the pipline with inventory and booking sales months in advance of actually delivering the merchandise."
Can you say "Q W E S T"??
Sounds quite similar to what most telecoms did over the last 5 years with line swapping. |
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VinnyJ
@aol.com
| reply to richb01803
Re: AT&T will be dissolved
AT&T Corp. will never go away. One reason the name along is the best known WORLD WIDE in telecom. Two, only AT&T has the power to reach every telephone in the world, no one else can claim that. Three, AT&T's network is not just the world's largest telecom network, but it is also one of the world's largest IP network. Four, AT&T is the only company that has the ability to replace, within 24 hours with mobile trucks and swtiches, an entire central office, as they did for the first time in their entire history on 9-11. Time and time again, AT&T has changed and moved on, granted this time i think they were really screwed over by Armstrong, I know they will still go on to lead the industry. AT&T may appear to be just a phone company, but in reality the are one of the most trust, and with good reason, communications providers. |
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BrianDamage
We Are The Hounds From Hell
Premium
join:2001-08-14
Rowlett, TX
clubs:
| Let me detail some history here.
AT&T Corp. will never go away. One reason the name along is the best known WORLD WIDE in telecom.
AT&T is not the same company it was prior to divestiture. Yes, the name is well known, but that is based on what people remember before the breakup. It is like calling a cotton swab a "Q-Tip" or a finger bandage a "Band-Aid"...it is what people remember, but not entirely accurate representation of the truth. They are proper names, that are easily remembered and referenced in a conversation.
AT&T has the power to reach every telephone in the world, no one else can claim that.
So could Worldcom or many other phone companies that offer local service. One does not have to own all the facilities globally in order to get a call through to anywhere in the world.
AT&T is the only company that has the ability to replace, within 24 hours with mobile trucks and swtiches, an entire central office, as they did for the first time in their entire history on 9-11.
That was Verizon that did that, not AT&T. Additionally, the former company that was the incumbent prior to merger upon merger was Nynex. They hadn't been AT&T since divestiture, which was 1984.
Nice AT&T plug, though, but AT&T is a shadow of it's former self, and continues the name recognition based on the 125 year long legacy of the phone business. That doesn't make the popular perception these days accurate, though.
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The rich get richer, the poorer get the picture, the bombs never hit you when yer down so low...some got pollution, others evolution, there must be some solution but I just don't know....briandamage@dslr.net |
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