
‘Better to have people think you’re stupid – than open your mouth and remove all doubt’ was my seventh grade teacher’s way of dealing with self-important know-it-alls.
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson should heed those time-honored words.
This week at a Milken Institute’s Global Conference, Stephenson remarked that he wished his company would have never offered unlimited data for iPhone customers, citing the capital AT&T had to invest up front to strengthen its network.
“My only regret was how we introduced pricing in the beginning, because how did we introduce pricing? Thirty dollars and you get all you can eat,” he said during the on-stage interview Wednesday. “And it’s a variable cost model. Every additional megabyte you use in this network, I have to invest capital.”
Really? AT&T strengthened their network? I must have been so distracted by my dozens of daily dropped calls that I forgot to notice. Or maybe it was the mysteriously delayed [and expensive] text messages that were so notoriously delayed that I once proposed paying for them in the month they were delivered. The AT&T Customer Service dweeb was not amused.
Reading Stephenson’s comments, I’m not amused either.
When most of us signed up for AT&T we were promised unlimited data, at speeds that AT&T knew full well they couldn’t deliver. And when they failed – did they blame their own shoddy network? Nope – they blamed their ‘data hog’ customers. Without apology or explanation, they continued for years to deliver sub-standard service all the while blaming their customers.
AT&T invested in their network? Marginally. So marginally that when repeatedly pressed for investment figures in specific problem markets – AT&T media reps have repeatedly stonewalled and given hyped-up numbers for regions. Even their FCC and SEC documents obscure their paltry investments despite earning record profits on the backs of iPhone users.
Most of us were lured into signing with AT&T by promises that they knew they could not keep. In retail that’s called ‘bait and switch’. In legalese it’s called ‘fraudulent inducement’. Either way – it’s wrong. Now for AT&T’s CEO to so publicly confirm what we knew all along, does that mean we’ll get a rebate for their sketchy network speeds and connectivity. I doubt it.
It may haunt his dreams at night – but at his pay grade – Stephenson can afford to hire a conscience.
AT&T’s abortive attempts to gobble up T-Mobile’s spectrum wasn’t a move to improve service – it was merely a means to block competition and raise rates. Even the blind pigs at the FCC smelled that rancid excuse and nixed the deal.
Now that there is beginning to be competition for iPhone and iPad service – it is time for customers to sit back and reflect on their AT&T experiences. Get over the warm fuzzy emails, and marketing.
AT&T regrets having to provide what you pay so dearly for – it’s that simple. Overcharging and under-serving is their modus-operandi.
When you look that data plan or iPhone renewal with AT&T next time – go ahead – RETHINK POSSIBLE.
Give Stephenson and other greedy CEO’s a real nightmare.








