Connecting the modern world

Innovation and the evolution of technology are a reality of our daily lives. For the most part, we adapt to and enjoy the positive changes and the advancements they enable.

I suspect there aren’t too many of you who would forgo streaming movies and TV shows to instead watch your Friday night entertainment over an 18-inch vacuum-tube powered color TV with rabbit ears and a three-button clicker.?Nor would I expect you are any longer running down to the drug store to pick up Kodak prints of your mother’s 85th birthday celebration from two weeks ago.?It’s also unlikely you donned Walkman headphones for your morning workout, dropped in four AA batteries, and enjoyed 90-minutes of your favorite Beatles tunes from a cassette tape (because we all know the 120-minute versions were prone to break!). And thankfully, your car is probably getting better than the industry average 12 MPG of the 1970’s as you drive around town – maybe it doesn’t even require gas!

While I have moments when I wax nostalgically about the simplicity of life before the internet, it doesn’t last long as I consider the depth and vitality of so many new dimensions in my life I would forgo without access to connectivity technologies like 5G and fiber.?And, the vast majority of the time, we have seen this same sentiment from our customers who have upgraded from decades-old network infrastructure to 21st century, high-performance connectivity.

Why then, do some seem to have an attachment to copper-based landline technology founded and first deployed decades before I started my first day at AT&T 40 years ago? And one that merely enables person-to-person voice communication? Just like your 1972 Volkswagen Beetle or Magnavox color television, there are better choices.?

Those choices offer improved voice quality. They are less expensive to operate and generally more affordable for customers. They are more sustainable and consume less power.?They are just as resilient as the original and getting better by the day. And they actually do some new and different things, while preserving what we love about the original – the ability to reach out and connect with someone.?

There exists a belief that somehow technology invented in the 1800’s, and with the current variant in service for over 50 years, is more reliable.?At face value, it’s not.?Parts are in short supply and no longer manufactured.?Those who wrote the machine language software that operate these early generation digital monoliths have long since retired.?The underutilized copper that carries the few voice signals remaining is either being stolen in the middle of the night or suffering from a species older than the technology itself……….squirrels.??

As a practical matter, it’s time to do what capitalism is best suited to do: deploy capital and resources to their highest and best use for customers, communities, and society at large.?Private industry and government owe it to this generation and the next to come together and deliberately pick a thoughtful and optimal time to pivot away from what served us so well for so long. It’s time to embrace what new technology is fully capable of doing – improving quality of life by offering us more, for less, and deploy scarce resources to achieve that goal. In areas where we no longer provide copper-based services, we’re able to invest that capital to reach more households with newer technology.

At AT&T, we are working hard and investing significantly to modernize our network technology for all our customers and connect them to new experiences and opportunities. Throughout this process, we have committed that no customer will be left without service. As we upgrade our networks to improved technologies, every customer’s experience will improve or be equivalent to what they enjoy today.

We are committed to working with our customers and urge state and federal policymakers to establish 21st century policies to keep the United States at the leading edge of communications technology for generations to come.