AT&T Is Counting on Government Stimulus Dollars to Help Fund Its Broadband Future
The wireless giant wants small towns to use federal economic recovery money to pay it to provide landline high-speed internet to rural and remote areas.
John Stankey, AT&T CEO, speaks at a round table in Evansville, Ind.
Photographer: Scotty Perry/BloombergAT&T Inc. Chief Executive Officer John Stankey doesn’t usually fire up the company jet for a mere $39 million network expansion project. But there he was, in Evansville, Ind., sporting a blue vest with an AT&T Fiber logo as he shook hands with local politicians and posed for photos with residents and employees.
Skipping a day’s worth of meetings at the Dallas headquarters to hobnob at a local groundbreaking indicates just how important Stankey considers the expansion of AT&T’s fiber network; it’s part of his strategy to refocus the company around offering greater telecommunications connectivity now that it’s left behind its dream of being a media powerhouse. Stankey’s sights are now set on a pool of almost $100 billion in federal funds allocated for broadband deployment.