AT&T | The Verge

How AT&T created the most iconic phone ever

2026-04-13T05:44:01-04:00

For years, even decades, virtually everyone in the United States had the same phone. Nobody really thought about it, it didn't even matter what it was called - it was just The Phone. Well, The Phone was called the Western Electric 500, and when landline phones ruled the world, the Western Electric 500 ruled the landlines. It was so ubiquitous for so long that even if you've never touched a landline, you've encountered the 500. The Phone app on your iPhone? Looks like a 500.

On this episode of Version History, we tell the story of the Western Electric 500, and the deeply strange world it came to represent. David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and prof …

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American Airlines is adding free AT&T Wi-Fi to all its planes

2026-01-06T14:18:24-05:00

American Airlines announced it would be offering free, high-speed, satellite-based Wi-Fi provided by AT&T to all of its jets this year. The installation process will start this month with the airline's narrow-body and dual-class regional planes, with the goal of having its entire fleet updated by spring 2026.

To access the free Wi-Fi, passengers will need to sign up for American's AAdvantage loyalty program. Signup is free, and once you're logged in, you can select "Free Wi-Fi" to start browsing. This is similar to United Airlines' deal with Starlink Wi-Fi, or Delta Air Lines with T-Mobile, both of which require users to sign up for the air …

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AT&T’s new home security system is powered by Google Home and Abode

2025-12-11T09:26:43-05:00

Here are all the devices that you get in the Connected Life $699 advanced kit.

AT&T is launching Connected Life, a new smart home security offering built around Google Home that keeps working during power or internet outages. Connected Life can be self-installed and features smart home cameras from Google Nest and security hardware from Abode, as well as professional monitoring.

This follows Google launching APIs for its smart home platform last year, which are also used by ADT's newest security system, ADT Plus. The Connected Life service is AT&T's latest attempt to step into the world of home security after shutting down Digital Life in 2022, a 3G-based home automation and security service that launched in 2013.

Co …

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AT&T’s AI call-screening tool uses your call history to filter out spam

2025-09-16T11:54:35-04:00

AT&T is testing an AI-powered assistant designed to screen phone calls for you. The mobile carrier is bringing the feature to a select group of customers this year, and likens it to a "digital receptionist" that can identify and filter out robocallers based on the information from its network, like your call history.

"This is only the foundation of what it can do," Andy Markus, AT&T's chief data officer, tells The Verge, adding that the AI assistant could eventually help you make reservations or schedule appointments in the future, similar to what you can do with Google's AI assistant.

When you receive a call from an unknown number, AT&T's …

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AT&T now lets you lock down your account to prevent SIM swapping attacks

2025-07-01T12:36:28-04:00

AT&T is launching a new Account Lock feature that's designed to protect wireless users against SIM swapping attacks. The feature, which you can enable from the myAT&T app, prevents unauthorized changes to your account, like phone number transfers, SIM card changes, and updates to billing information.

SIM swapping attacks have become increasingly common in recent years. They occur when a bad actor gets ahold of a victim's phone number, sometimes with social engineering techniques such as impersonating a victim and asking their carrier for a SIM change, and then intercepting messages and phone calls meant for the victim. This can let an attac …

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AT&T says ‘our network’ wasn’t to blame for Trump’s troubled conference call

2025-06-30T19:27:56-04:00

AT&T believes its network wasn't at fault for a conference call where President Donald Trump accused the company of being "totally unable to make their equipment work properly." Instead, AT&T is blaming an unnamed "conference call platform."

Earlier on Monday, President Donald Trump complained on Truth Social about apparent issues with AT&T's network during a "major conference call with faith leaders from all over the country" that had "tens of thousands of people on the line." Trump said that "this is the second time it's happened" and that if "the Boss of AT&T, whoever that may be" would get involved, "it would be good."

It appears AT&T …

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AT&T is making it easier to send pictures to 911 dispatchers

2025-06-24T08:15:50-04:00

AT&T is updating its next-gen 911 network to give users more efficient ways to share important information with emergency services. Starting in October, AT&T's ESInet emergency communications platform will make it easier for AT&T customers to share pictures and video messages with supported dispatch centers, helping to quickly explain the situation and better prepare first responders who will arrive on the scene.

The ESInet platform helps 911 dispatch centers process callouts faster and more reliably by replacing traditional analog connections with fiber-based IP networks. Since its launch in 2018, AT&T says 1,700 emergency call centers hav …

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AT&T and Verizon connect first cellphone-to-satellite video calls

2025-02-24T16:17:12-05:00

An image of the call completed by AT&T and AST SpaceMobile.

Verizon and AT&T have each announced milestones in making cellphone-to-satellite video calls in partnership with satellite company AST SpaceMobile.

Verizon has completed its first cellphone-to-satellite video call, while AT&T has completed its first using satellites that will be used as part of a commercial network. There's lining up competition to T-Mobile's arrangement with SpaceX and Starlink on satellite-to-cell service which launched a public beta for messaging via satellite earlier this month. AT&T and Verizon have said that T-Mobile and SpaceX's offerings would harm their networks.

Verizon pulled off "a live video call between two m …

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AT&T will let you split your bill with people on your plan

2025-02-22T11:51:51-05:00

AT&T has introduced SplitPay, a new payment option that lets those sharing a phone plan with others split their payment line-by-line, so no one person has to pay the entire bill. The company says the program is available for "select postpaid wireless plans," and that those using SplitPay can still get multi-line discounts.

It sounds like a nice idea, especially if you've ever had the experience of bothering people you're sharing a plan with for their part of a bill that you pay. As for what happens if not everyone pays up, AT&T says the account holder is still responsible for the bill, and late payments could still result in extra fees or s …

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Hacker pleads guilty of taking over SEC’s X account to post fake Bitcoin news

2025-02-10T17:25:08-05:00

Hacker Eric Council Jr. pleaded guilty Monday to charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud after he took over the SEC's X account in January 2024. Once Council gained access to the account, his unnamed co-conspirators posted a doctored image, message, and fake quote by then SEC Chairman Gary Gensler saying Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETC) have been approved, which caused the currency's value to spike more than $1,000.

The 25-year-old Alabama resident had used a SIM-swapping attack to move a phone number associated with the @SEC account to the SIM card in an iPhone he had purchased. After others obt …

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