Speaking to CNBC during the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson touted the carrier’s spectrum portfolio and mobile video offerings.
Stephenson discussed how, six months after the acquisition of DirecTV, AT&T has leveraged a quad-play. “I’d tell you we’re more enthusiastic about it today then when we first started it. What we were trying to do is bring video and the mobility experience together. We launched something a week ago…Monday, which was combining the video with the Internet experience.”
He’s referencing a new deal, announced Jan. 12, that allows new and existing AT&T Mobility customers who have or add either one of the two television services can move to the carrier’s Unlimited Plan priced at $100 per month for the first line of service. Second and third lines of service can be added for $40 per month, with the fourth line eligible for free. AT&T Mobility is touting the offer as allowing unlimited services across four lines for $180 per month once the fourth line discount kicks in.
The rate plans include unlimited calling, text messaging and data access, with AT&T linking the unlimited data aspect to customers being able to access unlimited video services from either one of its television platforms. The additional lines can include tablets or smartphones for the $40 per month access fee, basic/messaging phones for $25 per month, or smartwatches and other “select” connected devices priced at $10 per month.
Asked how long that deal would be available, Stephenson said: “We haven’t said what timeframe we’ll keep it open but you’re going to see just a number of new promotions and new things coming to fruition as a result of putting these two things together.”
“We started about three years ago accumulating the bandwidth, the capacity to do all this, put together a lot of different bands of spectrum…and we now have a big block of spectrum that we’re brining to market that’s empty. That’s where we’re putting all this traffic. It gives us the opportunity to do some unique things. Satellite is the most efficient video delivery technology known to man, fiber being next. At this stage we’re at a unique position by virtue of having the spectrum portfolio we have.”
