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Analyst Estimates AT&T Needs To Spend $5B To Catch Up
itwbennett writes "The public's perception of AT&T's network is poor and declining, apparently because of real shortcomings when compared with Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel,' says Gerard Hallaren, director of research at TownHall Investment Research. 'AT&T's capital expenditures on its wireless network from 2006 through September 2009 totaled about $21.6 billion, compared with $25.4 billion for Verizon and $16 billion for Sprint (including Sprint's investments in WiMax operator Clearwire). Over that time, Verizon has spent far more per subscriber: $353, compared with $308 for AT&T,' Hallaren said. 'Even Sprint has outspent AT&T per subscriber, laying out $310 for network capital expenditure.' All this means AT&T has a choice, says Hallaren: 'spend or suffer.'"
You know, I've been with Sprint for ten years now and I don't think I've ever had a dropped call. The only place I ever had problems getting coverage was in the middle of the Mojave Desert where the only radio station caters to people driving through because basically no one lives there, and even that was 7-8 years ago.
At my current job, none of the developers with AT&T phones have coverage at all, and mine's great. I'm downtown in a city of over half a million people -- that just shouldn't happen.
Obviously that's all just anecdotal but having seen/heard the problems other people have in contrast with my total lack of them, I'm not sure why I would ever switch.