#telecommunications

I retired from T and I got a better deal on a cell phone from mint mobile. I went looking ...................... before they cut me off my copper land line .

Something like this this would probably have never happened during the periods when the late Mel Ward and W.Frank Blount were running the company.

Likewise, when former COO Michael Rocca was overseeing networks, these incidents were not heard of.

Back in those days, there was much emphasis on local internal technical expertise, extensive testing and quality of service.

Telecom research labs should never have been demolished.
Internal training facilities should have also been maintained.

Privatisation and off-shoring has ruined the telecoms industry in Australia.
It is a terrible situation. And as a country, we a re not any better off for it.

Rogers is reportedly laying off front-line customer service representatives, adding to recent job cuts in its media division. The company has not confirmed the number of affected employees, but reports suggest hundreds may be terminated. Rogers stated it is investing in digital tools to improve customer service speed. Some laid-off workers claim their jobs are being moved to Morocco. This follows similar cuts by other major Canadian telecommunications companies.

Toronto, Ontario

https://www.cbc.ca/news/gopublic/rogers-customer-service-layoffs-9.7272931

Wells Fargo analysts started coverage of AT&T with a sell rating and price target of $18, implying nearly 15% downside. They are worried the telecom giant will likely lose ground to SpaceX's Starlink in broadband internet and, further down the road, could be threatened by Starlink's mobile ambitions. These aren't exactly new concerns. Just take a look at AT&T's stock chart, with shares down over 20% in three months.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/08/att-could-sink-as-starlink-use-soars-wells-fargo-says.html

Wells Fargo initiated coverage of AT&T with an underweight rating and set an $18 price target, implying nearly 15% downside from Tuesday's close.
In a note to clients, analyst Steven Cahall says Starlink is a near-term gainer in broadband relative to fixed wireless access and a longer-term disruptor to wireless. He says competition is likely to be fierce outside AT&T's fiber footprint, while the company's weaker market share footholds outside wireline areas leave its wireless net additions most at risk.

Cahall also says AT&T is less likely than rivals to strike a mobile virtual network operator partnership with Starlink. That leaves the company needing stronger execution in fiber and convergence to create upside for the stock, in his view.

In New Jersey they have reached 50k double wood poles that they need to transfer and remove. Some over 9 years old. The state is looking at setting fines for any over 90 days for safety reasons and to make money. Verizon's reason is they don't have enough crews to handle it. In reality it has to be done with expense dollars which they don't want to spend.

This is an account of the systematic dismantling of what was once one of the greatest telecommunications companies in the United States. A company that once prided itself on network supremacy, unyielding customer value, and a vibrant culture of engineering excellence and true camaraderie has been reduced to an empty shell. What remains is a cautionary tale of corporate greed, institutional rot, and an absolute failure of leadership.

The Catalyst of Rot: The Hans Vestberg Era

The downward spiral began with the appointment of Hans Vestberg as CEO. Bringing a history of financial mismanagement and scandal from Ericsson, Vestberg shifted Verizon’s focus from robust engineering to a hollow facade of technological innovation. Under his tenure:

• The Rise of Incompetence: The meritocracy was replaced by a bloated hierarchy of management, enabling internal factions to form, promote unqualified peers, and drain the corporate payroll.

• The Verizon India Failure: A heavily criticized outsourcing strategy to Verizon India led to convoluted, bloated internal systems that decimated operational efficiency, viewed by insiders as a highly compromised arrangement that enriched the few at the expense of the network.

• Technological Missteps: Heavy investments in dead-end technologies saddled the company with massive debt, causing unprecedented and lingering damage to the core network.

From Bad to Worse: The Chaos of Dan Schulman

Any hope that Dan Schulman would heal the company was quickly shattered. Instead of pulling the company out of its nosedive, Schulman’s brief tenure has plunged it into deeper chaos and anxiety.

• Decimated Morale: By signaling widespread layoffs and failing to provide a clear strategic direction, Schulman has destroyed employee morale. Offices are now filled with uncertainty, confusion over the integration of new technologies like AI, and employees simply waiting for the axe to fall.

• Performative Leadership: The executive layer has retreated entirely into self-preservation. On LinkedIn, leadership engages in performative posting about personal anecdotes or abstract technologies, entirely detached from the grim internal realities of the company.

A Culture of Grifters vs. Builders

Today, the line between leadership and the frontline is stark. True leadership has evaporated, leaving behind a culture of "grifters" rather than "builders."

• The Burden on the Frontline: The actual work keeping the company alive falls entirely on lower-level employees, while middle and upper management act as glorified secretaries, demanding answers from subordinates to mask their own incompetence.

• Institutional Silence: Fear dominates the management ranks. Leaders lack the valor and the skills to propose alternative strategies, prioritizing their own job security over actual guidance. This structural failure was recently reflected in historic lows across all categories in internal employee poll surveys.

The Imminent End

Verizon has lost its identity, stripped away the hardworking talent that built it from the ground up, and positioned itself for an inevitable sell-off to a larger buyer. While the executives responsible for this destruction will eventually float away on golden parachutes, they leave behind a broken legacy. This is a tragedy born of corruption, apathy, and the pursuit of personal financial gain over institutional greatness, a case study in how to destroy a legendary company from within.

Are there any layoffs happening on the OneTalk product team??Also, is it true that employees in the Boston office who work on OneTalk are always safe and never being affected?

Someone posted on here about VZ selling central office and scrapping the metal.

I thought we couldn't sell the COs bc that's literally where our equipment is housed and some have collocated equipment from other carriers, or used to. I feel super confused

Here’s a novel idea:
Fiber is great where dense; 5G mid-band strong in cities. But Starlink (SpaceX) crushes rural/low-density. Immediate deep integration/partnership: Bundle AT&T wireless/fiber with Starlink for seamless "always-on" global coverage. License Starlink tech or co-develop direct-to-cell. This neutralizes competition and expands TAM massively.
Deploy spectrum (from EchoStar/Lumen deals) with obsessive efficiency—Tesla-style manufacturing for cell sites and fiber rollout. Aim for 5M+ new fiber passings/year via automation/robotics. Open RAN? Push harder with custom silicon (like Dojo for AI inference on the edge).
Make convergence king: One app, one bill, one unbeatable experience for phone + home internet + vehicle connectivity. Churn drops when customers are locked into superior physics.

How much does the current Verizon's C-Suite understand and know?

It's over for Nokia. Elon is planning to buy T-mobile. There goes Nokia's ONLY major customer in USA. Elon going to buy T-mobile and sell Starlink.

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/musks-starlink-plots-become-mobile-carrier-td-cowen-sees-possible-t-mobile-buyout

TECH: Alphabet added to Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing Verizon

PUBLISHED TUE, JUN 23 20265:23 PM UPDATED 20 MIN AGO.

Alphabet will replace Verizon in the Dow Jones Industrial Average
, S&P Global said Tuesday, further expanding mega-cap technology’s presence in the blue-chip average.

S&P Global said the Google parent’s A shares — which trade under the ticker GOOGL — would take the spot in the 30-stock index ahead of the start of Monday’s trading. Shares of the online search giant rose about 1% after the bell on Tuesday following the announcement.

The California-based company will join mega-cap tech peers Nvidia
, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft
in the blue-chip index. S&P Global said Alphabet’s inclusion would bolster the Dow’s exposure to themes like artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure and advertising.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/23/alphabet-verizon-dow-djia.html?

Yet another sign that big red's best days are behind them.

Dan will never get stock price to $75. Verizon is $175 billion in debt, paying $8-$9 billion per quarter in interest payments. Not only that, technology is moving fast, which means the next telco displacing newcomer is waiting on the wings. Verizon is paying today for 20 years of bad investments. No amount of inflation will save them from bad debt and investments, especially since cellular plan prices have gone down and increased data to unlimited. If you adjust today’s telco charges to inflation, not good for Verizon, even if it helps the debt burden.

Dan will never get stock price to $75. Verizon is $175 billion in debt, paying $8-$9 billion per quarter in interest payments. Not only that, technology is moving fast, which means the next telco displacing newcomer is waiting on the wings. Verizon is paying today for 20 years of bad investments. No amount of inflation will save them from bad debt and investments, especially since cellular plan prices have gone down and increased data to unlimited. If you adjust today’s telco charges to inflation, not good for Verizon, even if it helps the debt burden.

Looking at this hand picked replacement by Dan, if I were any of Russo’s direct reports particularly those with duplicative roles I would be VERY worried.

It’s time to clean out the 30+ year VZ leaders in GN&T and get some fresh perspective - it’s also not Y*go just for the record.

The post below the line of === recently appeared on a Telstra executive's LinkedIn account. It was also covered by the Australian Financial Review in an article by Media, marketing and telecommunications reporter Sam Buckingham Jones.

As a former Telstra Principal Technical Officer with 4 decades of experience in the network maintenance and implementation field, I find this 'restart' approach extremely disturbing. It fixes nothing and may have the potential to interrupt traffic to triple-zero 'emergency' calls. (That is - calls to police, fire & ambulance).

Such interruptions have previously been linked to the death of people.

How many times will Telstra merely restart equipment before actually fixing the real fault ?

If equipment requires repeated restart to clear faults, then the network owner should really be placing more scrutiny on their vendors and demanding a real fix.

Network operators should focus on quality of service, rather than just 'clearing' equipment alarms to improve KPIs. Network alarms are raised for a reason. - To notify of problems.

Fix the faults. - Don't just clear alarms to improve your statistics.

“Have you tried turning it off and on again?”
Turns out, our network already has🤖🔁🔧

Telstra's SmartFix 🤖 is one of those AI capabilities that’s quietly been working in the background for years to make things better for our customers.

SmartFix uses smart telemetry from across the network 📡 to spot common issues early and, where it can, fix them automatically - sometimes by restarting equipment before a customer even realises there’s a problem.
✅ Fewer faults
⚡ Faster fixes
🙂 Less friction

This is AI doing real work, not demos or hype. And it’s a great example of our Network as a Product strategy in action - using data, software and automation to make the network itself smarter, more adaptive and more valuable 🔧📈.

We’ve been applying AI like this for a long time, embedded deep in how the network operates, with a simple goal:
👉 more reliable connectivity
👉 better experiences
👉 every day

New Jersey has seen over 7,600 layoffs announced in 2026 by early June. Verizon announced 121 new layoffs based in Basking Ridge. Novartis reported a third round of cuts, totaling 250 layoffs in East Hanover. Merck announced 88 layoffs effective by September, following earlier cuts in Rahway. Acme Markets is also closing its Edgewater store, impacting 115 workers.

Basking Ridge, New Jersey

https://wpgtalkradio.com/ixp/385/p/new-jersey-layoffs-2026/

To make the most effective use of AI, you pretty much have to be an expert in the domain you are working so you can write effective prompts AND AI must have enough relevant information in order to provide quality output. There is a lot of info in telecom that cannot reasonably be put into AI (confidential info, or spread across many emails, and across many documents (each containing PPI), etc.). For example, take a cell site design: To use AI you would need to upload many plots from Atoll, upload traffic usage and drive data (if available), upload maps, upload ongoing surrounding project info and their status', etc.. You would also need to tell AI what you want as far as standard equipment (and that is always changing and has dependencies), and on and on it goes. The list of things AI needs in order to provide quality output goes on and on, depending on the domain and the intricacies of the required output. The end user also must be knowledgeable enough to recognize garbage.

If you are a non-tech type (not intending an insult here), and you took some of the AI courses available from Google (and probably other AI vendors), you have seen some pretty powerful stuff. AI can do some amazing things. Yes, AI can summarize data. AI can create graphics, videos and audio output. AI can tie together data and create powerful dashboards. AI can write code. AI does all of this much faster than humans. Those AI courses leave the user thinking AI can do most anything. Those AI courses also inspire users to want to buy the creator's product (AI subscriptions). That is intentional! Google, and other AI vendors want to make money on their products. They are not going to talk much about the pitfalls of their products.

Taking those courses is like watching a very long, well produced commercial. If you are a tech type, you may be familiar with at least some of the inner workings of AI and understand it really is a probability machine (really A LOT of little probability machines). It takes in data, creates relationships amongst that data based on probabilities it "learned" from training data. Some of the magic is taken way, but it is a good thing to understand in order to make better use of the tool.

Dan Schulman's educational background is in economics and he has an MBA. Guessing other C-suiters' educational backgrounds are similar. AI works well for economics. You can upload many disparate spreadsheets and as long as there is some semblance that the data in each sheet can be correlated with data in the other sheets, AI will handle it like the Harlem Globetrotters handle a basketball. I am sure Dan was drooling at the mouth when AI vendors showed him what they could do for VZ. But, give AI a bunch of data without concrete direction, and design requests that could have many tradeoffs that are not seen until design time, it will provide output that is not concrete. There will be a lot of garbage output.

To best use AI, yes, you can use conversational prompts, but, you must be very precise. Think of training your dog or you child:). Dogs and children do not understand the concept of "sometimes." You must think like a programmer and tell AI exactly what you want. The issue with more complex problems is that exactly what we want is not known until we get deeper into the design. We have not seen all of the dependencies and tradeoffs until we get deeper into the analysis. By the time we get that far into it, it is faster to just do the task ourselves rather than try to put all of that info into AI.

So looking at the current employee counts based on Annual Form 10-K filings it looks like T is about to shed $13K+ employees this rounds, and it will still be 40K employees more than VZ , Is the goal to be in line with the other Telcos or will they always have more?

Much of management has proven they are clueless, sociopathic and pretty much stupid when it comes to real analysis of what will and will not work when it comes to the network. And for those few that know better, they are spineless and will not speak up to stop the insanity. It would not surprise me for there to be mass layoffs if/when a handful of Elon's satellites get deployed and VZ jumps the g-n firing people with the thinking they will move customers to the satellite system. The facts are that the satellite systems will help the rural areas, and probably have some [more] governmental applications (more spying on our citizens), but high traffic areas will still need ground based cell sites. See the question asked on Google, and the response (bottom line - the pipe is not big enough to serve lots of people at the same time, and too many satellites would be needed to make it work).

Here is the question posted on Google (if you want to ask variations yourself):
How many simultaneous users can be served with 5 mbps download speeds on a single satellite (all beams) using the latest satellite and mobile technology and 100Mhz of bandwidth?

And here is the answer (NOTE the last section):

AI Overview
With 100 MHz} of bandwidth of bandwidth, a single satellite system with the latest 5G and mobile technology can serve between 4,000 and 12,000 active, simultaneous users (depending on the use of spatial beam multiplexing) at a guaranteed 5 Mbps download speed.
The Breakdown
To calculate how many simultaneous connections can be maintained, we must look at the mathematical throughput and spatial reuse of modern Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN).
Spectral Efficiency: The latest 5G New Radio (NR) standards have a high spectral efficiency, delivering roughly (3) to (6\text{ bits}) per second per Hertz.
Total Per-Beam Throughput: For a (100\text{ MHz}) channel (the maximum standard carrier component), a single spot beam yields a peak capacity between (300\text{ Mbps}) and (600\text{ Mbps}).
Active User Allocation: If every user is actively streaming or downloading at exactly (5\text{ Mbps}) without sharing, a single beam can support (60) to (120) continuous, simultaneous users ((300\text{ Mbps} \div 5\text{ Mbps} = 60) users).

Scaling to the Whole Satellite:
Satellites multiply their capacity by reusing the same (100\text{ MHz}) bandwidth across tens or hundreds of spot beams directed at different geographic areas simultaneously (frequency reuse). If a high-throughput Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite utilizes 100 simultaneous beams, it can support between (6,000) and (12,000) simultaneous active users across the globe.

https://share.google/u7rF8Z5SbF3w1BSgJ

https://apple.news/Ay_ISb-khQx221ZuzQORlIQ

AT&T continues downward run, marks seven-session losing streak
May 11, 2026, 4:01 PM ET -- AT&T Inc. : Jay Mehta, SA News Editor. [ Seeking Alpha ].

Shares of AT&T closed down 1.21% at $24.86 on Monday, marking the telecom giant’s seventh consecutive losing session.

The stock has fallen about 3.7% over the past six sessions, underperforming the broader S&P 500 Index, which gained 2.6% during the same period. Despite the recent weakness, AT&T shares remain up about 0.8% so far in 2026, though they have lagged the benchmark index’s 8.1% advance this year.

Some analysts are pointing to the telecom sector’s capital-intensive business model as a key concern. Bearish commentary has focused on a 19% year-over-year decline in free cash flow to $2.5 billion, as capital expenditures rose to $5.1 billion amid continued fiber network expansion. Critics have also highlighted a 25% drop in legacy copper-based revenue and net debt of $126.4 billion, which pushed leverage to 2.71x, above the company’s long-term target of 2.5x.

Meanwhile, Seeking Alpha’s Quant Ratings maintained a Hold rating on the stock with a score of 3.44 out of 5. The company received an A+ grade for profitability, while its growth and momentum metrics were rated D and C−, respectively.

On the bullish side, Seeking Alpha analyst Sensor Unlimited reiterated a Buy rating on AT&T, citing its first-quarter 2026 results and fiber-first strategy. The analyst pointed to growth catalysts, increasing share repurchases, and capital allocation flexibility, noting that buybacks exceeded dividends for the first time and lifted total shareholder yield above 8%.

Similarly, Seeking Alpha analyst The Investment Doctor maintained a constructive view on AT&T’s senior securities, highlighting the company’s stable financial performance and strong coverage ratios. The analyst noted that preferred shares yield between 6% and 6.5% with a payout ratio below 1%, while baby bonds, including AT&T 5.35% Global Notes due 2066 (TBB), may offer a more favorable risk-reward profile for certain investors.

Overall, both Wall Street analysts and Seeking Alpha analysts remain broadly bullish on AT&T, maintaining Buy ratings despite near-term pressure on the stock.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/4590653-at-and-t-continues-downward-run-marks-seven-session-losing-streak

Celly, really? Maybe Celly and Newsy can start a cartoon adventure series together lol.

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/newspaper-set-mascot-70s-groovy-260nw-2406493173.jpg

Stream of thought... Did I miss anything?

The Telecom Paradox
More Traffic. Same Revenue.

Telecom is working harder than ever.

Traffic is exploding.
AI, video, cloud, 5G, FWA, everything runs on our networks.

But revenue?

Flat.

We operate one of the most capital-intensive industries in the world on a model that rewards volume… but not value.

This isn’t temporary pressure. It’s structural imbalance.

The digital economy is expanding exponentially. Yet the infrastructure enabling it
captures a shrinking share of the value.

The Reality & Problem for Verizon:

It’s like claiming that LCD manufacturers should benefit from more pixels being displayed when users watch more video

Chatanooga and Denver....

https://www.local3news.com/local-news/t-mobile-laying-off-200-employees-at-chattanooga-call-center/article_6e4434d6-af84-49f5-8cbd-d77e92f1e95d.html

https://whatnow.com/denver/local-news/major-telecommunications-firm-t-mobile-usa-to-cut-51-jobs-at-denver-office/

For years, Verizon Communications built its brand on one idea. The best network.

That worked when the gap was real. It is not anymore.

Today, every major carrier is good enough. Most customers do not see a meaningful difference in daily use. But they do see the bill. And they do feel the experience.

That is where the problem is.

You cannot charge a premium if people do not feel it. Not in speed. Not in service. Not in how easy it is to deal with you.

This is not really about the network. It is about everything around it.

Simple plans
Clear pricing
Fixing issues the first time
Respecting the customer’s time

These are not big ideas. These are basics. And when the basics are off, no network claim can save you.

The real shift is this. Telecom is no longer about who has the best signal. It is about who delivers the best overall experience for the price.

Verizon is now being forced to face that reality.

The next move will matter. If it is just more promotions, nothing changes. If it is a real reset in how the company serves customers, then there is a path forward.

Right now, the message is simple.

Having the best network is expected.
Making it worth paying for is what matters.

Buckle up! Now tell us Frontier’s clan didn’t come over for any other reason but to help secure the sale. The writing has been on the wall.

“One source told the publication that T-Mobile (TMUS) and TPG could be partnering for an offer for the entire company, according to the report.”

www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/uniti-group-jumps-amid-report-tpg-t-mobile-looking-at-assets/ar-AA1ZQk1g

https://www.fierce-network.com/wireless/fcc-wants-crack-down-offshore-call-centers

Verizon Fios smells blood in the water. Customers will be jumping as this rolls out in Brookhaven.

https://greaterlongisland.com/brookhaven-verizon-fios-cable-franchise-agreement/

This Micro Business is poorly run/ executed
Especially on the West Coast. Not sure how anyone sees this dumpster fire lasting another quarter.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/malady_im-proud-to-share-that-verizon-was-again-activity-7437148008309411840-z8da?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAACV8i2YBVYHcvhwuBHASFvRcqvSymR2yU9M

Do you really think the AD/D/SD having only 2 to 3 direct reports should be gone? There are tons of them.

There will ALWAYS be layoffs. It is the Verizon way. It's also the Verizon way to pretend they don't happen, and do them under the table. The big one on 11/20 was too big to ignore, and got national media coverage. But going forward, I suspect the layoffs will be more "traditional", where specific groups or programs are targeted to be shutdown, as opposed to another "20% across the board" type of action. The Frontier integration will no doubt result in "redundancies" being identified. Other areas that have been mentioned are parts of Enterprise, specifically overseas, so I'd expect some cuts there as well.

Bumping this up for visibility, from @ad+1kk9jn5e2

I got an additional bonus today for RTO. My boss said I had the best 'how and where report' score in the group and were rewarding me as such. $$$$

Verizon layoffs to hit 15,000 roles in 2026 as automation takes over https://share.google/AJuhG51e9EFToXk0E

With the amount of business fraud these agents do and the travel required for the role I don’t see how this position can survive much longer is it really profitable