SIGNIFICANCE
As the U.S. wireless market experiences a slowdown, telecom companies like AT&T and its competitor Verizon are increasingly focusing on their high-speed internet services, an area traditionally dominated by broadband providers such as Comcast.
There is also a rising interest in AT&T's bundled plans, which allow customers to combine high-speed fiber internet with wireless phone services at a reduced rate.
The company anticipates that the partnership with Corning will facilitate network expansion, improve performance, and reduce deployment expenses.
In the third quarter, AT&T reported 28.3 million fiber passings, indicating the number of potential customer locations accessible by its fiber network. The company is on track to exceed 30 million fiber passings by the end of 2025.
BACKGROUND
AT&T's fiber segment gained 226,000 new customers in the third quarter, falling short of the anticipated 257,860 additions, as reported by Visible Alpha. This shortfall was largely attributed to a work stoppage that began in August in the southeastern region, which affected fiber installation efforts.