{"id":27204,"date":"2016-02-18T13:31:18","date_gmt":"2016-02-18T18:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/?p=27204"},"modified":"2016-04-25T22:06:15","modified_gmt":"2016-04-26T02:06:15","slug":"attdirectv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/2016\/02\/18\/attdirectv\/","title":{"rendered":"AT&T\/DIRECTV"},"content":{"rendered":"

by: Sophia Malik<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"

AT&T and DirecTV logos\u00a0[1]<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Company\u00a0<\/strong><\/h1>\n

AT&T<\/a> is a leading global telecommunications company with many subsidiaries and business ventures, including DirecTV and Cricket Wireless. Its services and products include wireless communications, data\/broadband and Internet services, video services, local exchange services, long-distance services, telecommunications equipment, managed networking and wholesale services [2]<\/a>.\u00a0 Recently, the company has been working to improve employee\u00a0relations, improve the brand name, and invest in new streaming technology to appeal to the ever-profitable\u00a0millennial target audience.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. That was the foundation of the company that would become AT&T \u2013 a brand that is now intimately tied\u00a0with innovation in communications.<\/p>\n

\"\"

_ Alexander Graham Bell with the first telephone [3]<\/a><\/p><\/div>In 1984, the former AT&T agreed to divest its local telephone operations but retain its long distance, R&D and manufacturing arms. From this, SBC Communications Inc. (first known as Southwestern Bell Corp.) was born.<\/p>\n

Twelve years later, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 drove major changes in the competitive landscape. SBC expanded its U.S. presence through a series of acquisitions, including Pacific Telesis Group (1997) and Ameritech Corp. (1999). In 2005, SBC acquired AT&T Corp., creating the new AT&T, a leader in global communications for businesses. The acquisition of BellSouth in 2006 consolidated the ownership of Cingular Wireless.<\/p>\n

AT&T led one of the most significant transformations in communications since the invention of the telephone: the birth of the mobile Internet.\u00a0In 2013, AT&T\u00a0bought Cricket to give customers in the growing prepaid market more access to mobile Internet services. In 2015, they\u00a0completed their\u00a0purchase of 2 Mexican wireless companies, Iusacell and Nextel Mexico. Today, they are\u00a0encoiraging smartphone adoption and on their\u00a0way to becoming a leading wireless provider in that country, too. Their\u00a02015 acquisition of DIRECTV makes them\u00a0the world\u2019s largest pay TV provider.<\/p>\n

\n