AT&T to Move Copper Customers to Wireless

By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor

AT&T plans to remove copper infrastructure without upgrading customers to fiber, it announced at its Analyst & Investor Day event, saving billions of dollars but potentially leaving millions without a wireline internet connection. “We have many square miles outside of our fiber footprint, that we have very little to no demand that's existing in this part of our footprint,” said Jeffery Scott McElfresh, CEO of AT&T Communications LLC. “We are transitioning customers that are in that part of the footprint to a better product served by wireless in many instances.” The removal of copper is part of a long-term effort to reduce the copper footprint 50 percent by 2025, increasing speeds and rationalizing a cost base of $6 billion. “As we increase speed and pace in our copper sunset activities across our entire footprint, those savings start to reveal themselves on the bottom line of our multi-year plan,” McElfresh said. “Now controlling the timing and profitability curve while we migrate customers to our next-generation fiber and 5G services is essential to our transformation.” Continue Reading