Today AT&T announced its 2nd quarter 2024 earnings and with that it reported that its new 5G Home Internet service added 139,000 new customers. This move to 5G Home Internet comes as AT&T has been launching it in areas where it wants to end DSL service but has yet to fully roll out fiber in those areas.
AT&T reportedly plans to shutdown about 50% of its current DSL markets over the next few years. Already some customers have been informed that they need to switch to Fiber or they will lose internet service.
Now, with 5G Home Internet, AT&T can speed up its efforts to shutdown DSL in more areas. AT&T says its 5G Home Internet service is now live in 137 markets giving it the ability to continue to move DSL customers to other internet options helping it shutdown its aging copper network.
AT&T ended its 2nd quarter 2024 with $4.6 billion in cash flow and 239,000 new fiber internet customers.
“For the past four years, we’ve delivered consistent, positive results that have repositioned AT&T. Our solid performance this quarter demonstrates the durable benefits of our investment-led strategy,” said John Stankey, AT&T CEO. “AT&T is leading the way in converged connectivity as customers increasingly seek one provider who can seamlessly connect them in their home, at work and on the go. This is proving to be a winning strategy. Today, nearly four of every ten AT&T Fiber households also choose AT&T wireless service. As the nation’s largest consumer fiber builder, we see this as an opportunity to continue to grow subscribers and revenues, while deepening customer relationships.”
Copper lines around the United States are aging and becoming expensive to keep working. Many companies are working hard to replace them and fiber s the main way they are doing that. For now, though, it is hard to get fiber in all the markets at once, and 5G Home Internet is one way AT&T can quickly move customers off of DSL to new internet options.