AT&T is moving to Google’s Jibe platform, which will mean that AT&T users “will get the latest RCS features instantly,” according to Android boss Hiroshi Lockheimer. 9to5Google reports that AT&T’s previous backend would occasionally run into errors, so hopefully the change to Jibe is an improvement.
More than 800 million people have access to RCS, but iPhones still don’t.
[9to5Google]
Wireless carriers haven’t been able to monetize 5G, and telecom companies are in crisis. Sean Kinney at RCR Wireless bears the bad news in a new report from an industry event:
The optimism around 5G as some sort of panacea to any sort of business problem is giving way to disillusionment. Cost pressure is mounting, headcount reductions are happening, and outright cynicism is in the offing. This raises a question: if operators, for whatever reason, cannot leverage 5G to grow revenues and deliver innovation, do they drop the pretense and face the harsh reality that connectivity is a commodity and should be sold as such?
Guess we can look forward to even more creative new ways for carriers to charge us more!
[RCR Wireless News]
This retrospective report from The New York Times has all the juicy details about how the merger between AT&T and Time Warner became one of the worst in history:
But for sheer strategic miscalculation and poor execution, AT&T’s management of Warner Media may have no rival in recent corporate history.
It’s a long, but fascinating read, featuring interviews with former Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes and former AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson.
[The New York Times]
Ian is starting to make landfall in Florida, and AT&T says it’ll waive text, talk, and data overage fees for both postpaid and prepaid wireless customers with billing addresses in 828 zip codes across Florida from September 28, 2022 through October 28, 2022. The company is also prepping its huge Network Disaster Recovery team, which has everything from truck-based mobile cell towers to entire basecamp setups for field work.
[about.att.com]
Shopping for a phone plan doesn’t have to be painful
