AT&T's New Route to Wireless

AT&T's idea is to get companies to consider wireless as one more communications service that may be better managed through a sort of central administrator -- the same way data and conventional phone service are handled. And of course AT&T would like to solidify its role as the key communications manager for corporations.

This one-company, one-bill approach isn't exactly new. In fact, Sprint has been one of the biggest proponents of the one-stop business services shop. But few companies offer all the services and the scale necessary to pull it off.

"We see this as an opportunity that has not been addressed yet," said an AT&T representative.

While the appeal of seeing wireless added to the service bundle may not be great among small and midsize companies, analysts say the real demand is among large organizations.

"This is a big deal if you are a big spender," says Forrester analyst Lisa Pierce. "Reducing administrative costs is important, and the ability to buy more stuff from one provider also gives you greater aggregate discounts," says Pierce, who works with all the large phone companies.

To date, Verizon (VZ Quote) has yet to wrap its Verizon Wireless services into a combined business service offering. But both BellSouth and SBC have plans to bundle services from the wireless joint venture Cingular into a business offering, according to analysts.

The MVNO route gives AT&T a couple of advantages. For one, wireless service tends to be spotty, so by using multiple carriers AT&T could conceivably offer customers service from the telco with the best network coverage in a given area.

AT&T also has a strong brand, though its name was somewhat tarnished over the past year on the wireless side.

In 2000, AT&T spun off a portion of AT&T Wireless to shareholders. In 2001, it distributed the remaining shares to shareholders, making the wireless outfit an independent business with no formal ties to AT&T. In October, after AT&T Wireless sputtered and misfired on the customer service front, Cingular bought out the company to become the nation's largest wireless telco.