I. INTRODUCTION
The wireless telecommunications industry has exploded during the past few years, as consumers who need instant information and don't have access to a wired port have upped the demand for these services. AT&T has been a major telecommunications provider in the United States since the inception of the telephone in 1875, and continues to exhibit it's presence in the fast-growing wireless communications industry2. This report will provide detailed, pertinent information on the role of AT&T in the wireless and wireline telecommunications industry.
Wireless carriers allow for users to perform activities such as: transmission of voice, graphics, data and internet access through the carriage of signals over radio tower networks. The wireless industry is dominated by the subsidiaries of large wired telecommunication firms, such as AT&T, Bell South, Qwest and Verizon. The vast size of the aforementioned firms gives them a distinct advantage over smaller firms who lack access to the large amount of capital needed to stay afloat in this highly competitive industry.
There are several yardsticks that can be used to measure success within the telecommunications industry, such as: churn rate (the rate at which customers leave one company for another), EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), and ARPU (average revenue per user) 1.
II. BARRIERS TO ENTRY
Major barriers to entry in the telecommunications industry include: high capital requirements, limited access to distribution, economies of scale, and absolute cost advantages for larger, more mature firms like AT&T, Bell South, and Verizon. In the past, the wireline communications (telecommunications) industry was nearly impossible to get into, however governme ...