At&T is a multinational corporation located in the United States. The company has its headquarters at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the fourth-largest telecommunications and digital entertainment service provider in the World. The company has been ranked 13th on Fortune 500. It earns a revenue of $120.7 billion. The company offers a wide range of services from wireless communication, internet, TV, and digital home services. The company has some competitors like T-Mobile US, Verizon, Vodafone Group, Lumen Technologies, Windstream Holdings, Cricket Wireless, Sprint Corporation, Frontier Communications, Charter Communications, Verizon Communications, Cox Communications, Verizon Wireless, Comcast Corporation, and Deutsche Telekom AG.
Source: (DEADZONE, 2018)
The assets of the company have been recorded as US$402.85 billion as of the year 2022.
The total equity of the company has been said to be US$106.46 billion as of the year 2022 and the number of employees in the company is 160,700 as of January 2023. The company wants to become one of the best broadband providers in the United States and worldwide. It wants to provide its broadband services to all business entities and also to all consumers located worldwide. It is operating in both fibre and wireless networks to achieve economies of scale and become one of the best connectivity companies. The company wants to increase its fibre network by double times to around 30 million locations. It wants to expand its business as well as customer locations by two times to five million people. To achieve this target, the company wants to add 3.5 million to 4 million customer locations every year.
Porter’s Five Forces is a framework designed for analyzing the range of competitive forces prevailing in a particular industry or sector. It helps in the identification of five forces that influence the profitability of the business. It provides us with the various strategies to reduce the negativity effectively and efficiently. It helps us in the identification of threats to the company, the bargaining power of the buyers and suppliers, threats of its competitive rivalry as well as threats of the entry of new substitute products or services.
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Forces |
Analysis |
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Threats of New Entrants |
Today, the telecommunication industry plays a major role in the life of every person including businessmen, housewives, and even kids. It provides connectivity among people. However, entering into the industry as a start-up can be challenging in terms of multiple factors (Isabelle et al., 2020). It requires a good amount of capital to facilitate the infrastructure requirements. There is a huge challenge in expanding and maintaining cable fibres. The industry faces huge hurdles due to changes in regulatory uncertainty and disruptions. Moreover, even after the establishment of the communication services, the company has to look into the security of the services, especially cyber security. |
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Bargaining Power of Buyers |
The industry operates in an oligopolistic nature, which makes the bargaining power of the buyers limited or moderate. The industry is dominated by various major players, those of which can determine the purchasing power of the buyers (Islami et al., 2020). However, the number of telecommunication service providers and digital service providers is increasing in the market, which gives some power to the buyers to determine their purchasing power. |
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Bargaining Suppliers |
Power |
of |
There are few suppliers in the telecommunication industry, with few critical components. Therefore, the bargaining power of suppliers in this sector is moderate to high. Moreover, suppliers having unique and specialized components can have more bargaining power as compared to others. The industry is dominated by a few major players, who have strong market positions and brand goodwill, which can further dominate the whole telecommunication industry (Benzaghta et al., 2021). Therefore, the increase in the number of service providers can reduce the bargaining power of the suppliers. |
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Threat of Substitute Products or Services |
The telecommunication industry can face less or limited threats in terms of its substitutes. While, with the advancement of technology in the domain of this industry can pose a few challenges thereby, increasing the threat of its substitutes (Banka et al., 2022). Traditional communication services can be substituted with modern telecommunication services where internet-based communication can be given more preferences. Services like some messaging apps or voice-over IP (VoIP) platforms can be used in place of present voice and messaging services. Moreover, today the technology is shifting towards wireless services, which can pose another challenge for traditional communication services. People today prefer more of online services like social media and other online platforms which is posing a threat to the traditional communication industry. |
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Intensity Rivalry |
of |
Competitive |
There is a huge competition in this industry with some major players dominating the market. There are some areas with multiple service providers leading to intensive competition to grasp the market share. An increase in technological advancements is forcing service providers to invest heavily in technology to stay competitive in the industry (Irfan et al., 2019). Additionally, an increase in the expectations of consumers regarding services, quality, cost, speed, and innovations is leading to intense competition in the market between various service providers. This competition results in price fluctuations in the market. |
Source: Author
Additionally, political regulations and environmental regulations can directly impact the operations and financial position of the companies involved in this telecommunication industry (Wood et al., 2021) Visualising the competitive nature, innovations, and landscape will help the companies to decide their market price and their upcoming innovations. Any changes in political and technological scenarios can change the demand and supply.
The company earned revenue of $120.7 billion last year. The company posted a significant improvement in revenue from the net loss of $13.9 billion reported in the year-ago quarter (Hristov & Chirico, 2019). Revenue from services amounted to about 83% of companywide revenue during the fourth quarter while equipment accounted for the remaining 17%. AT&T has the highest customer satisfaction index score among all the mobile network operators in the latest wireless customer satisfaction as per the report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The company has a score of 75 on a 100-point scale, a bit higher than the industry average of 74 points. AT&T reported a postpaid wireless churn rate of around 0.97 per cent in the last year, an increase in the rate of 0.94 per cent as reported in the previous year. The network availability of the company is good as compared to its competitors. The Average Handling Time (AHT) of AT&T is three minutes per customer.
The company’s WACC % is 5.58% and ROIC % is 10.01% (calculated by using TTM
income statement data). The company generates higher returns on investment as compared to the costs the company acquires to raise the capital needed for the investment (Fabozzi et al., 2020). It is earnings of the company is good as compared to its competitors. The company has a market share of 64.90% in the telecommunications industry. It competes using 42 competitor tools in the other category. The top alternative tools used by the company are WebRTC with a 10.61% share, Investis with a 7.43% share, and Microsoft Yammer with a 4.25% market share. The capital expenditures of the company from its operations were around $19.6 billion for the last year, as compared to expenditures of $15.5 billion for the past year (Mosca & Perini, 2022). Capital investment of the company from other operations is around $4.7 billion, which includes cash payments for vendor financing of around $24.3 billion.
Figure 2: Revenue Growth of the Company
Source: (Shaikh, 2023)
The internal business environment analysis of a large multi-national company like AT&T involves analysis of various factors like technologies, global presence, and human and capital resources employed (Ariwibowo et al., 2021). It involves analysis of the resources of the company. It also involves an analysis of the capabilities of the organisation, its advancement in technologies in critical areas, and its leadership capabilities. It also involves analysing the innovative nature of the company, its collaborations with other companies within the same industry or other industries, and its organisational structure. It also includes finding out the strengths, opportunities, and weaknesses of the company along with the investment and financial structure of the company.
The VRIO framework is the management tool used to analyse the internal business environment, internal resources of any company, and the capacity of any company to determine its competitive advantage in various domains. VRIO stands for Value, rarity, Imitability, and Organisation.
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Factors |
Analysis |
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Value
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The company is the fourth-largest telecommunications and digital entertainment service provider in the World. The company offers a wide range of services from wireless communication, internet, TV, and digital home services (Astawa, 2022). It has a well-structured and proper network connectivity, which increases the value of the company. The company is located worldwide and is the 13th best service provider as per Fortune 500. This increases the brand reputation of the company and also increases the market share value. The company owes huge worth in the market, challenging its competitors. The company also invests heavily in the research and development strata to remain competitive in the market. The company is investing in advanced technologies to accept the innovations in its industry, thereby remaining competitive in the market. |
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Rarity |
The infrastructure facilities provided by the company to its customers are rare in category. The company is holding the recent infrastructure required in this industry to remain stable and competitive (LEE, 2022). The company holds a spectrum of resources with it. Additionally, the brand reputation and the goodwill, that the company holds over the years, are important assets of the company. The company is competing to provide voice, data, and video services. It aims to expand its business and customer range. The company aims to increase |
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its fibre footprint by double times in the coming years. All of these make the company rare in nature. |
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Imitabilit y |
The telecommunication industry is growing rapidly in the industry, giving the possibility of the entry of new entrants in the industry. Additionally, the technological advancements which are updated continuously in the market can be easily imitated by other companies, with not much effort. The competitors can easily invest and adopt the recent technologies required and gain brand value (Vargas-Hernández et al., 2019). They can easily attract consumers from rival companies only by providing the services in demand by the consumers. The voice, data, and video services, which the customers today demand can be readily fulfilled with little effort. Additionally, consumers are more attracted to social media and online platforms, which easier for rivals to own and dominate the market (Miethlich & Oldenburg, 2019). However, some aspects are difficult to imitate like the brand reputation and the goodwill of the company. These aspects will help the company to remain a market owner. |
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Organisat ion |
AT&T is one of the multinational corporations located in the United States. It is the fourth-largest telecommunications and digital entertainment service provider in the World. The company has been ranked 13th on Fortune 500. It earns revenue of $120.7 billion. The company offers various ranges of services from wireless communication, to the internet, TV, and digital home services (PérezUribe et al., 2023). The assets of the company have been recorded as US$402.85 billion as of the year 2022. The total equity of the company has been said to as US$106.46 billion as of the year 2022 and the number of employees in the |
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company is 160,700 as of January 2023. The company wants to become one of the best broadband providers in the United States and worldwide. It wants to provide its broadband services to all business entities and also to all consumers located worldwide. It is operating in both fibre and wireless networks to achieve economies of scale and become one of the best connectivity companies (Murcia et al., 2022). The company wants to increase its fibre network by double times to around 30 million locations. It wants to expand its business as well as customer locations by two times to five million people. To achieve this target, the company wants to add 3.5 million to 4 million customer locations every year. |
Table 2: VRIO analysis
Source: Author
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Factors |
Analysis |
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Political Factor |
Political factors involve all those political factors that have an impact on the firm’s responsibilities and target (Möller et al., 2020). There are constant changes in government regulations and laws. Therefore, changes in government regulations, laws, structure, and policies can have a direct impact on the workings of the companies in this industry. Stability in the political scenario is vital for the long-term growth and prospects of the company. |
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Economic Factor |
Economic factors involve analysing the financial resources available to the firm or analysing the firm’s ability to collect finance for fulfilling its target and responsibilities. Consumers are the owners of this industry and any changes in the economic conditions like, inflation and deflation can have a direct impact on the workings of the company. Change in prices can also change the preferences and spending of the customers (Geels, 2019). Additionally, economic factors also decide the spending of the company in technological gradation and research and development. The company is located in numerous countries, providing services worldwide. Fluctuations in the currency exchange rate led to changes in international operations. |
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Social Factor |
Social factors involve analysing the company’s contribution to society and towards its internal environment. Social factors include, demographics such as the size of the population, its age, and growth distribution. Societal factors can have a direct impact on the type of telecommunication services provided by the company (Daou et al., 2020). People of different age groups prefer different services either the traditional services or the modern services. This leads to a shuffle in the demand for the type of services preferred. Additionally, changes in consumer preferences on the adoption of technologies can also have an impact on the market of this industry. |
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Technological Factor |
There are rapid changes in the technology. Instant innovations in technology can have a direct impact on the market share of these companies. Companies need to adapt themselves and invest in technological advancements to stay in the market for the long run and grasp the market share (Ahlstrom et al., 2020). Additionally, even in the digital service, the company has to look into the security of the services. It has to keep itself changing to beat the cyber security of the services and check the safety of the customers. |
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Environmental Factor |
Environmental factors involve the assessment of environmental factors that will help the firm in completing its target and responsibilities. Today, the consumers are well aware of the environmental concerns (Soltani et al., 2021). They want the companies to work for the environmental issues prevailing. This also impacts the demand for the type of services the customers want. The company must work towards the energy-intensive nature of data centres. They must aim to work for the network infrastructure to look into the environmental concerns.
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Legal factor |
Legal factors involve compliance with government laws, and local and international laws to fulfil its target and responsibilities. The company must work as per the regulatory compliance and laws to ensure that the regulations are followed (Nandonde, 2019). Regulatory compliance is essential for every company to stay in the market. Additionally, the company must work towards the protection of its intellectual properties including patents and copyrights. This will help to safeguard their technologies. |
Table 3: PESTLE Analysis
Source: Author
The Six Sigma Framework is a set of tools and techniques for the improvement of the process and workings of the company. Implementing Six Sigma at a multinational corporation is a comprehensive task, which needs to define specific goals and objectives. The Six Sigma
Framework of At&T includes the following:
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Framework |
Analysis |
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Define |
The company wants to become one of the best broadband providers in the United States and worldwide. It wants to provide its broadband services to all business entities and also to all consumers located worldwide. It is operating in both fibre and wireless networks to achieve economies of scale and become one of the best connectivity companies (Citybabu & Yamini, 2022). The company wants to increase its fibre network by double times to around 30 million locations. It wants to expand its business as well as customer locations by two times to five million people. To achieve this target, the company wants to add 3.5 million to 4 million customer locations every year. |
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Measures |
The company earned revenue of $120.7 billion last year. The company posted a significant improvement in revenue from the net loss of $13.9 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. Revenue from services amounted to about 83% of companywide revenue during the fourth quarter while equipment accounted for the remaining 17%. AT&T has the highest customer satisfaction index score among all the mobile network operators in the latest wireless customer satisfaction as per the report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) (Kaswan & Rathi, 2020). The company has a score of 75 on a 100-point scale, a bit higher than the industry average of 74 points. AT&T reported a postpaid wireless churn rate of around 0.97 per cent in the last year, an increase in the rate of 0.94 per cent as reported in the previous year. The network availability of the company is good as compared to its competitors. The Average Handling Time (AHT) of AT&T is three minutes per customer. The company's WACC % is 5.58% and ROIC % is 10.01%. The company has a market share of 64.90% in the telecommunications industry (Swarnakar et al., 2020). The capital expenditures of the company from its operations were around $19.6 billion for the last year. |
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Analysis |
The factors that are contributing to the performance issues and defects are- toxic lead cables owned by the company and poor signal services. Additionally, the network of the company remains too busy many times. The plans of the company are a little too pricey than the current services it offers.
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Improve |
The company must work towards providing the best broadband services worldwide. It must improve the quality of the services. The company must check and address the complaints of the consumers and deal accordingly (Nascimento et al., 2020). It must ensure that the plans or the amount charged by it meets the expectations of the customers and should be as per the service quality. |
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Control |
The company must develop plans as per the requirements of its customers and to increase the market share of the company. |
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Verify |
The company must monitor its performance and ensure continuous improvements (Qayyum et al., 2020). It must establish feedback mechanisms to address the problems of its customers. |
Table 4: Strategic Dynamic Analysis
Source: Author
The Boston Consultancy Group matrix is a framework or a strategic management tool to help companies analyze their service lines based on the current market growth and relative market.
The BCG matrix provides characteristics of the company. It defines its diverse operations by focusing on the dynamic nature of the business entities while keeping in mind various other factors like political scenarios and also checks the present scenarios of the company and its environment (Xu et al., 2021).
Figure 3: Penetration Testing Centre.
Source: (Ross, 2023)
The company has a huge potential to become one of the best broadband providers in the United States and worldwide. The company is increasing its research in this segment. The company has a strong global presence, having its subsidiaries in other countries. It leads to a high market share for the company. There are various areas of growth for the company. It wants to provide its broadband services to all business entities and also to all the consumers located worldwide. It is operating in both fibre and wireless networks to achieve economies of scale and become one of the best connectivity companies. The company wants to increase its fibre network by double times (Zaccone & Pedrini, 2020). The company can generate stable cash flows. The company can further increase its performance to generate a good amount of cash flows in its domain. It has to increase its efficiency and profitability. There are some areas of some functions of the company which can lead to a decline in the profitability of the company. The company and its management must look into those functions for its long-term diversification and viability.
The Uppsala Model is an international Model. It is also known as the Uppsala Internationalisation Process Model. This model is used to identify firms that can improve or increase their international presence (Vahlne, 2020). It describes the internationalization process of firms. It helps to know how companies can diversify themselves and enter into foreign markets. AT&T is one of the international companies which have a significant share in the international presence. The company focuses mainly on the domestic market.
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Stages |
Analysis |
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Export Activities |
The company primarily operates in the domestic market, within the United States. Therefore, the company has no indulgence in export activities (Hult et al., 2020). It occasionally enters into export transactions.
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Export via Independent Representatives |
The company plans to increase its international presence. It wants to expand its service-giving segment via independent representatives or distributors of the foreign market. |
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Establishment of Sales Subsidiaries |
To gain control over sales and marketing, the company establishes its subsidiaries in the international market (Hult et al., 2020). |
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Establishment of a Production Facility |
The company must expand its production in the international market to dominate the industry.
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Table 5: Uppsala Model
Source: Author
The company must focus on the development of technology to dominate the market. The company must prioritise its customers, and listen to and solve their grievances. It must improve the quality of the services and reduce the cost of expenditure. It must charge a viable amount from its customers to gain and attract its customers. The company can also enter into partnerships with other companies of the same domain or different domains (Hristov & Chirico, 2019). It should indulge itself in digital transformation to win the digital scenario. It must try to offer its services digitally. The company must diversify its services into other communication domains. It must also look into the security of itself as well as its customers.
At&T is a multinational corporation located in the United States. It is the fourth-largest telecommunications and digital entertainment service provider in the World. The company offers a wide range of services from wireless communication, internet, TV, and digital home services. The company wants to become one of the best broadband providers in the United States and worldwide. It wants to provide its broadband services to all business entities and also to all the consumers located worldwide. It is operating in both fibre and wireless networks to become one of the best connectivity companies.
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