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AT&T history
AT&T company history timeline
1983: Plans for the breakup of AT&T are approved, leading to the creation of independent, regional telephone companies and freeing AT&T to enter non-telecommunications businesses.
In 1984, the former AT&T agreed to divest its local telephone operations but retain its long distance, R&D and manufacturing arms.
To help pay for the breakup, AT&T took a fourth-quarter charge of $5.2 billion in 1984, the largest to that time.
James E. Olson became president of AT&T in 1985, cutting 24,000 jobs from the information division later that year to improve its profits.
In 1986, Olson became chairman, and Robert E. Allen became president.
At the end of 1986, AT&T cut another 27,400 jobs and took a $3.2 billion charge.
In 1987, the DOJ recommended that the regional operating companies be allowed to compete with AT&T in long distance and telecommunications equipment manufacturing--its two core businesses.
Olson died in 1988, and Allen became chairman.
After nearly $2 billion in losses in computers, the data systems group finally signed a major contract with the United States Air Force in 1988. As a result, the company lost $1.7 billion in 1988, its first-ever yearly loss.
She completed Harvard University’s rigorous Advanced Management Program in 1989, and three years later AT&T chose her to restructure its faltering Business Communications Systems division as its president.
AT&T showed a $2.7 billion profit for 1989, its largest since the breakup.
In mid-1990, AT&T raised its long-distance rates after low second-quarter earnings.
Hoping to make money from its financial and information resources, AT&T launched a credit card, Universal Card, in early 1990.
Bell Labs announced important breakthroughs in computer technology in 1990, including the world's first computer using light.
By late 1990, it was the eighth leading credit card in the United States, with revenue of $750 million.
Wall Street analysts, however, expected the credit card's startup costs to hold back AT&T earnings until at least 1992.
1993: AT&T enters the cellular telephone business with the $12.8 billion acquisition of McCaw Cellular Communications.
In 1994 AT&T purchased McCaw Cellular Communications Inc., the nation’s largest provider of cellular telephone service.
NCR in particular was not earning its keep and lost $600 million in 1994.
On September 20, 1995, the company announced it was splitting up yet again, this time into three separate entities.
1995: AT&T announces it is splitting into three companies, AT&T Corporation, Lucent Technologies, and NCR Corporation.
Following Congress’s 1996 deregulation of the telecommunications industry, AT&T acquires the nation’s No.
In October 2000, a little more than two years after Armstrong hailed the beginning of new age for AT&T, the company announced plans to split into four separate companies.
The company's residential telephone business, described by Armstrong in a November 8, 2000 interview with Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News as "in systemic decline," offered little opportunity for future growth.
2001: Comcast acquires AT&T Broadband for $72 billion.
As business dried up and layoffs and financial losses persisted, the chances of Lucent’s recovery seemed slim, but Russo boldly promised to return the company to profitability before the end of 2003.
In July 2004, the company announced it would stop courting residential customers and instead focus its future on its business services segment.
2004: AT&T Wireless is sold for $41 billion to Cingular Wireless.
By the end 2004, AT&T was preparing for the beginning a new era.
On November 18, 2005, SBC Communications, Inc.based in San Antonio, purchased AT&T Corp. for $16 billion.
AT&T acquired BellSouth Corporation on December 29, 2006 following FCC approval.
AT&T rebranded its wireless retail stores from Cingular to AT&T in January 2007.
In July 2009 Russo was appointed to the board of directors of General Motors.
AT&T made an attempt in 2011 to purchase T-Mobile for a $39 billion stock and cash offer.
In September 2013, AT&T announced it would expand into Latin America through a collaboration with América Móvil.
In December 2013, AT&T announced plans to sell its Connecticut wireline operations to Stamford-based Frontier Communications.
On May 18, 2014, AT&T announced it had agreed to purchase DirecTV. In the deal, which has been approved by boards of both companies, DirecTV stockholders will receive $95 a share in cash and stock, valuing the deal at $48.5 billion.
In July 2015, AT&T purchased DirecTV for $48.5 billion.
She also served on the boards of various other companies, and in 2015 she became chairman of Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s board.
On October 22, 2016, AT&T announced a deal to buy Time Warner for $108.7 billion in an effort to increase its media holdings.
On July 13, 2017, it was reported that AT&T would introduce a cloud-based DVR streaming service as part of its effort to create a unified platform across DirecTV and its DirecTV Now streaming service, with U-verse to be added soon.
On September 12, 2017, it was reported that AT&T planned to launch a new cable TV-like service for delivery over-the-top over its own or a competitor's broadband network sometime the following year.
On March 7, 2018, the company prepared to sell a minority stake of DirecTV Latin America through an IPO, creating a new holding company for those assets named Vrio Corp.
In September 2019, activist investor Elliott Management revealed that it had purchased $3.2 billion of AT&T stock (a 1.2% equity interest), and had pushed for the company to divest assets to improve its share value.
As of 2019, AT&T is the world's largest telecommunications company.
The service, named HBO Max, launched in May 2020.
On February 25, 2021, AT&T announced that it would spin-off DirecTV, U-Verse TV, and DirecTV Stream into a separate entity, selling a 30% stake to TPG Capital (owners of Astound Broadband cable), while retaining a 70% stake in the new standalone company.
In May 2021, AT&T announced plans to spin off WarnerMedia, which will merge with Discovery, Inc. for US$43 billion.
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AT&T competitors
| Company Name | Founded Date | Revenue | Employee Size | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verizon Communications | 1983 | $136.8B | 132,200 | 867 |
| AUTOMATED DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES | - | $284.9K | 5 | 3 |
| Cricket Wireless | 1998 | $1.9B | 221 | 311 |
| 1998 | $282.8B | 139,995 | 4,224 | |
| U.S. Cellular | 1983 | $4.2B | 5,000 | 76 |
| Vonage | 2001 | $1.4B | 2,400 | 17 |
| Qwest | 1996 | $11.4B | 30,000 | - |
| IBM | 1911 | $60.5B | 270,000 | 1,980 |
| Lucent | 1996 | $9.4B | 30,500 | 3 |
| NCR | 1884 | $7.8B | 36,000 | 666 |
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Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of AT&T, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about AT&T. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at AT&T. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by AT&T. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of AT&T and its employees or that of Zippia.
AT&T may also be known as or be related to at&t/bellsouth, at&t/lucent technologies, Southwestern Bell Corporation (1983–1995) SBC Communications Inc. [1] (1995–2005), at&t/cingular wireless, AT&T Inc., at&t mobility (f/k/a cingular wireless), at&t/sbc, AT&T Inc, At&t, at&t authorized retailer, AT&T, at&t, inc., and all of its subsidiaries and affiliates, AT & T Mobility and AT&T /National Public Markets Business.