Nearly two years after spinning off its wireless business, AT&T Corp. reported a deal to begin reselling AT&T Wireless Services Inc. wireless service as part of a communications bundle to residential long-distance customers in select markets beginning this summer.
“This combined wireless and wireline calling plan will allow users to select the right phone for the right occasion,” explained Dave Dorman, chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T Corp. “Additionally, consumers no longer will have to contract with multiple vendors to get the services they want and need.”
AT&T added that the wireless service will be branded as AT&T Wireless.
AT&T Wireless noted the agreement would provide the nation’s third-largest carrier with a low-cost source of attracting customers to its network.
“Our new agreement with AT&T will serve as a solid supplement to our principal marketing activities and will enable us to efficiently offer wireless services to some otherwise hard-to-reach customers,” said John Zeglis, chairman and CEO of AT&T Wireless. “It supports an important strategic thrust for AT&T Wireless of attracting new customers in creatively cost-effective ways as we drive toward our goal of becoming free cash flow positive in 2003.”
AT&T spun off its wireless division in July 2001 as part of a corporate restructuring plan that created four publicly traded businesses operating under the AT&T brand name. The other spun-off divisions included AT&T Broadband, AT&T Consumer and AT&T Business.
A number of AT&T’s wireline competitors including Verizon Communications Inc. with Verizon Wireless and both BellSouth Corp. and SBC Communications Inc. with Cingular Wireless, offer similar marketing arrangements with their wireless partners.
