Following my participation at the AT&T Analyst and Investor Day in December, I had an opportunity to speak with Jenifer Robertson, executive vice president and general manager of the company’s Mass Markets business unit that provides consumer wireless and wireline services. I was eager to spend more time with her discussing what AT&T is doing to elevate subscriber experiences, especially given that her remit at AT&T is so large, representing the operator’s biggest revenue stream — $90 billion.
During our one-on-one, we discussed a range of topics including the recent launch of the AT&T Guarantee and last year’s Turbo announcements, the value of converged mobility and fiber services, the application of generative AI in call center and field engagements and expanded connectivity via low earth orbit satellites. With that context set, let’s dive in.
Service Level Agreements For Consumers
Earlier this month, the carrier launched the AT&T Guarantee, a customer-first promise across the company’s wireless and fiber networks. It’s an audacious commitment that encompasses service availability, deals on both equipment and related subscriptions and, crucially, customer care. The AT&T Guarantee aims to elevate the subscriber experience by offering consistently favorable pricing and prompt, friendly service — a public commitment to continuously improve customer service delivery.
Robertson told me that this effort has been in the planning stages for a number of years, and I believe that the AT&T Guarantee has the potential to both foster existing customer loyalty and facilitate new customer acquisition. One of the barometers of communication service provider success is maintaining low subscriber churn rates, with a goal of 1% or less. What I like about the AT&T Guarantee is that it is a proactive versus reactive effort to accomplish this objective. The cost to acquire new subscribers is significant and retaining them is equally important from a profitability standpoint.
To address the latter, AT&T is also focusing on new value-added services. A great example of this is AT&T’s Turbo offering, which was launched in May of last year. Turbo gives customers the opportunity to purchase a data performance boost to foster smoother responsiveness for applications such as gaming, streaming, social video broadcasting and live video conferencing. From my perspective, AT&T Turbo clearly demonstrates AT&T’s continued investment in making its mobile networks more programmable and responsive to the demands of latency-intensive applications.
The Value Of Converged Connectivity
At the analyst event, Robertson spoke about the economic lifetime value that continues to materialize for AT&T with customers who subscribe to both its consumer mobility and broadband fiber services. During our conversation, she and I dove deeper into the customer value that is generated in the form of higher satisfaction and lower switching. AT&T has firmly established high customer satisfaction scores with its business wireless services, as evidenced by top rankings from J.D. Power over the past three years.
I believe the company can do the same with consumers through its reinvigorated approach under the AT&T Guarantee. Additionally, consolidated billing, new services like AT&T Turbo and the use of modern AI-driven applications all have the potential to delight current consumer customers and drive net-new fiber and mobility adds. Net promoter scores for its consumer operations and its pricing are trending in a positive direction for AT&T, indicating that the carrier is making real strides in accomplishing its objectives.
Transforming Customer Support With Generative AI
One of the important emerging use cases for generative AI is transforming customer support. AT&T has long embraced AI and machine learning through its practical research efforts, something I wrote about in 2020. A customer-facing example of these efforts emerged in 2023, when AT&T and Nvidia teamed up to facilitate intelligent service truck rolls.
These days, generative AI is front and center. AT&T began to harness it last year with the goal of transforming both its call center and field service operations. Robertson reports that generative AI is already reducing customer callback times by a staggering 50%. These efforts are part of a multi-year journey, helping customers with additional self-service diagnostics that deliver more accurate responses. Furthermore, these tools sense customer sentiment and defuse frustration, ultimately enhancing subscriber interactions with the company.
Generative AI is also improving field service technician productivity and efficiency, allowing AT&T to serve more customers and enhance interactions through higher degrees of personalization. The company is carrying out ongoing trials to engage customers more effectively using AI-enhanced tools that aim to free technician time and enhance customer interactions.
Dallas, We Have A Connection
AT&T and AST SpaceMobile can trace their partnership back several years to initial investigations leveraging low earth orbit satellites, terrestrial spectrum and unmodified smartphone connectivity. The collaboration was further strengthened by a commercial agreement and financial investment announced last May, followed by AST SpaceMobile’s first commercial satellite launch last September.
During our conversation, Robertson emphasized the value that AT&T places on facilitating connectivity everywhere and how burgeoning LEO satellite deployments serve as a vital element to fill coverage gaps. AT&T can leverage satellites to bridge the digital divide in less densely populated regions that are underserved by radio access network infrastructure. This is even more significant given the carrier’s large subscriber and infrastructure footprint, and it could grow over time as AST SpaceMobile continues to launch additional satellites.
AT&T’s Vision For Long-Term Subscriber Experience
As we concluded our conversation, Robertson shared her vision for AT&T’s Mass Markets business, with an emphasis on the notion of revenue durability. I define telecom durability through its ability to deliver consumer value beyond free streaming services and discounted tickets to movies, concerts and sporting events. For Robertson, durability means offering the best pricing and assurance for standard broadband and wireless services and the underlying equipment, introducing innovative new services and ensuing delightful customer support when problems arise.
AT&T wants to be the connectivity provider of choice for U.S. households, and by all measures it is executing against that goal. The company is on pace to double its fiber install base, with investments totaling $140 billion in networks and customer care over the last five years. However, throwing money at improving reliable and secure connectivity services is not enough. AT&T has faced challenges in the past delivering on the promise of providing consumers with delightful experiences, but it is now demonstrating a reinvigorated approach that has the potential to level up its efforts.
