AT&T to spend $21-22 billion in CapEx in 2024
AT&T’s returns from its fiber investment have been better than expected—and it’s eying an additional 10-15 million incremental locations within its existing footprint that CEO John Stankey said are economically “as attractive as the ones we’re building right now,” based on what the company is seeing in its current rates of fiber penetration and share and its average revenue per fiber user.
AT&T has a goal of passing 30+ million consumer and business fiber location by the end of 2025. Stankey said during the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference this week that if the regulatory environment “stays attractive to building infrastructure,” that there “could be an opportunity for us to allocate capital to move beyond 30 [million locations passed].”
Overall, Stankey reiterated that AT&T plans to continue its strategy of balancing investment and its emphasis on a converged network strategy, with reducing its costs. He addressed the ongoing pause in intensive network capital investments by saying that given the record wireless investments that have been made in the past few years, “those that made the investments are stepping back and saying, ‘How do I earn a return on that investment?’ and they’re making decisions that are appropriate and rational for the amount of money that they put into their business.”
“There’s still some meaningful opportunities for us to run our business more effectively,” Stankey added. He went on to say that the company’s fiber services is “incredibly well received” and that “As we get better on combined offers, that’s going to make us even better in the market, more effective in the market.”
AT&T said in a business update following Stankey’s remarks customer relationships, “demand remains healthy” and that the company expects to see sequential postpaid phone growth in net additions for the fourth quarter, with fiber customer additions reflecting the typical ebb and flow of the season.
AT&T said that its Internet Air 5G FWA product is now available in parts of 34 markets, with the carrier offering the service as an “attractive connectivity option for businesses” while it takes a “measured approach” on fixed wireless access for consumers. The carrier also said that its midband 5G spectrum now covers more than 200 million potential customers.
