AT&T Plaza
Plaza with Cloud Gate behind McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink
Location within the Chicago Loop area
Former names	SBC Plaza, Ameritech Plaza
Location	55 N. Michigan Ave Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates	41°52′57.72″N 87°37′23.88″W / 41.8827°N 87.6233°W / 41.8827; -87.6233
Opened	July 16, 2004
Owner	City of Chicago
Surface	Concrete
Tenants
Cloud Gate

AT&T Plaza (formerly Ameritech Plaza and SBC Plaza) is a public space that hosts the Cloud Gate sculpture. It is located in Millennium Park, which is a park built to celebrate the third millennium and which is located within the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. The sculpture and the plaza are sometimes jointly referred to as Cloud Gate on the AT&T Plaza.^[1]

It was opened in the summer of 2004 with the initial unveiling of the sculpture during the grand opening weekend of the park. Ameritech Corporation/SBC Communications Inc. donated US$3 million for the naming right to the space.^[2][3] The plaza has become a place view the McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink and during the Christmas holiday season, the Plaza hosts Christmas caroling.^[4]

Details[link]

A tent was erected on AT&T Plaza to cover Cloud Gate while it was being polished.

Lying between Lake Michigan to the east and the Loop to the west, Grant Park has been Chicago's front yard since the mid-19th century. Its northwest corner, north of Monroe Street and the Art Institute, east of Michigan Avenue, south of Randolph Street, and west of Columbus Drive, had been Illinois Central rail yards and parking lots until 1997, when it was made available for development by the city as Millennium Park.^[5] Today, Millennium Park trails only Navy Pier as a Chicago tourist attraction.^[6]

The plaza is located above Park Grill, above and behind the McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink, adjacent to the Chase Promenade, and between the North and South Boeing Galleries. The plaza and sculpture sit atop the 300-seat $6 million dollar Park Grill, which opened in November 2003 behind the McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink.^[7] The surface of the plaza is concrete.^[8] The plaza is composed of 25,200 square feet (2,340 m²) of concrete pavers. Each paver is 30 by 30 inches (76 by 76 cm), and each is 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) thick.

History[link]

Pavers engraved with the Plaza's former name, SBC Plaza

The plaza was originally named Ameritech Plaza for Ameritech Corporation, the corporate sponsor, who donated $3 million for the sculpture-hosting plaza's naming rights.^[2][3][9] By the time the park officially opened in 2004, Ameritech had merged with SBC Communications and the plaza was called SBC Plaza. When SBC acquired AT&T and subsequently changed the name from SBC to AT&T in 2005, the name of the plaza changed again.

Cloud Gate was originally estimated to weigh 60 short tons (54.4 t; 53.6 long tons) because it was impossible to estimate the thickness of the steel compatible with the desired aesthetics.^[10][11] The final piece, however, weighs 110 short tons (99.8 t; 98.2 long tons) and care had to be taken in supporting it.^[10] The roof of the Park Grill, upon which Cloud Gate sits, had to be strong enough to bear the weight. A large retaining wall separating Chicago's Metra train tracks from the North Grant Park garage travels along the back side of the restaurant and supports much of the sculpture's weight. This wall, along with the rest of the garage's foundation, required additional bracing before the piece was erected.^[10] In June 2004, when construction of the shell began, a large tent (pictured left) was erected around the piece in order to shield it from public view.^[12]

Activities[link]

Image map of Millennium Park. Each feature or label is linked.

In 2006, annual Christmas caroling began at the plaza. Following Thanksgiving, weekly sing-alongs are led by choral groups including Bella Voce, Chicago Mass Choir, and Chicago Children's Choir.^{[4][13][14][15][16]}

Because of its elevation above the McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink, the plaza has become a prime viewing location for Jazz music concerts held during the summer at the McCormick Tribune Plaza. McCormick Tribune Plaza is located below and to the west of AT&T Plaza as well as adjacent to Michigan Avenue's Historic Michigan Boulevard District, which are slightly further west.^[17]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Gilfoyle, Timothy J. (2006). Millennium Park: Creating a Chicago Landmark. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-29349-1. 

External links[link]

• Millennium Park map
• City of Chicago Loop Community Map

v t e City of Chicago Chicago metropolitan area State of Illinois United States of America Architecture Beaches Climate Colleges and Universities Community areas Culture Demographics Economy Flag Freeways Geography Government History Landmarks Literature Media Music Neighborhoods Parks Public schools Skyscrapers Sports Theatre Transportation Category Portal WikiProject

v t e Millennium Park Features and attractions AT&T Plaza Boeing Galleries BP Pedestrian Bridge Chase Promenade Cloud Gate Crown Fountain Exelon Pavilions Harris Theater Jay Pritzker Pavilion Lurie Garden McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink McDonald's Cycle Center Park Grill Wrigley Square Surrounding streets Columbus Drive Historic Michigan Boulevard District Michigan Avenue Randolph Street Influences Anish Kapoor Frank Gehry Jaume Plensa Kathryn Gustafson Piet Oudolf Robert Israel Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Other Grant Park Nichols Bridgeway Grant Park Music Festival Burnham Pavilions Petrillo Music Shell Millennium Station

	Wrigley Square	Boeing Gallery	Chase Promenade
	McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink		Chase Promenade
		AT&T Plaza Park Grill    East
	Crown Fountain	Boeing Gallery	Chase Promenade

AT&T Inc.

The AT&T logo.
Type	Public company
Traded as	NYSE: T BMV: T FWB: SOBA Dow Jones Component S&P 500 Component
Industry	Telecommunications
Predecessor(s)	American Telephone and Telegraph Company
Founded	October 5, 1983 (1983-10-05)[1]
Headquarters	Whitacre Tower, Downtown, Dallas, Texas, United States
Key people	Randall Stephenson (Chairman, President & CEO)[2]
Services	Fixed line and mobile telephony, broadband and fixed-line internet services, digital television
Revenue	US$ 126.723 billion (2011)[3]
Operating income	US$ 09.218 billion (2011)[3]
Net income	US$ 03.944 billion (2011)[3]
Total assets	US$ 270.344 billion (2011)[3]
Total equity	US$ 105.534 billion (2011)[3]
Employees	256,420 (2011)[3]
Parent	American Telephone and Telegraph Company (1983)
Subsidiaries	AT&T Corp. AT&T Mobility BellSouth Southwestern Bell AT&T Teleholdings
Website	ATT.com

Whitacre Tower: AT&T's corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas

AT&T Inc. (sometimes stylized as at&t; NYSE: T, for "telephone") is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the second^{[citation needed]} largest provider of mobile telephony and largest fixed telephony provider^[4] in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband subscription television services. As of 2010^[update], AT&T is the 7th largest company in the United States by total revenue, as well as the 4th largest non-oil company in the US (behind Walmart, General Electric, and Bank of America). It is the 3rd largest company in Texas by total revenue (behind ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips) and the largest non-oil company in Texas. It is also the largest company headquartered in Dallas.^[5] In 2011, Forbes listed AT&T as the 14th largest company in the world by market value^[6] and the 9th largest non-oil company in the world by market value.^[7] It is the 20th largest mobile telecom operator in the world with over 100.7 million mobile customers.^[8]

The company began its existence as Southwestern Bell Corporation, one of seven Regional Bell Operating Companies created in 1983 as part of the break-up of the original AT&T due to the United States v. AT&T antitrust lawsuit. It changed its name to SBC Communications Inc. in 1995. In 2005, it purchased its former parent company, AT&T Corp. (originally known as the American Telephone and Telegraph Company), and took on its branding, with the merged entity naming itself AT&T Inc. and using the iconic AT&T logo and stock-trading symbol.

The current AT&T reconstitutes much of the former Bell System and includes ten of the original 22 Bell Operating Companies, along with one it partially owned (Southern New England Telephone), and the original long distance division.^[9] The company is headquartered in downtown Dallas, Texas.^[10]

History[link]

1984–2001: Southwestern Bell Corporation[link]

American Telephone and Telegraph Company officially transferred full ownership of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company to Southwestern Bell Corporation on January 1, 1984. It had three other subsidiaries: Southwestern Bell Publications, Inc., a directory publisher; Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems, Inc., in the business of mobile telephone service; and Southwestern Bell Telecommunications, Inc., focusing on marketing phone equipment to business customers. The holding companies' new president was Zane Edison Barnes.

In 1987, SBC bought Metromedia Inc.'s cellular and paging business. This in turn boosted the company to third largest cellular-communications company in the United States; behind McCaw Cellular and Pacific Telesis. In January 1990, Edward Whitacre took over as president of Southwestern Bell.^[11] The Headquarters was moved from St. Louis to San Antonio, Texas in February 1993. It acquired 2 cable companies in Maryland and Virginia from Hauser Communications for $650 million, becoming the first regional Bell telephone company to acquire a cable company outside of its service area. In 1994, they called off a $1.6 billion acquisition attempt for 40% of Cox Cable due to FCC rules on cable companies. SBC would later start selling its current cable company interests.

1995–2000: Changes in the company[link]

In 1995 Southwestern Bell Corp. became SBC Communications. They then combined Southwestern Bell Telecom division (which made telephone equipment) into the company, due to new FCC rules.

In 1996, SBC announced it would acquire Pacific Telesis Group, a Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC) in California and Nevada. 1997 brought rumors of a proposed merger between AT&T Corporation (the USA's largest long distance provider) and SBC (the USA's largest local provider). The FCC disapproved of the merger, and it came to end. Later in 1997, SBC sold its last two cable companies, exiting the cable telecom field.

In January 1998, SBC announced it would take over Southern New England Telecommunications Corp. (SNET) for $4.4 billion in stock (the FCC would approve in October 1998). SBC also won a court judgment that would make it easier for RBOCs to enter the long distance phone service, but it was being challenged by AT&T and the FCC. In May 1998, Ameritech and SBC announced a $62 billion dollar merger, in which SBC would take over Ameritech. After making several organizational changes (such as the sale of Ameritech Wireless to GTE) to satisfy state and federal regulators, the two merged on October 8, 1999. The FCC later fined SBC Communications $6 million for failure to comply with agreements made in order to secure approval of the merger. SBC became the largest RBOC until the Bell Atlantic and GTE merger. 1998 revenues were $46 billion, placing SBC among the top 15 companies in the Fortune 500.^[11]

In January 1999, SBC announced it would purchase Comcast Cellular, for $1.7 billion, plus $1.3 billion of debt. During 1999 SBC continued to prepare to be allowed to provide long distance phone service. February SBC acquired up to ten percent of Williams Companies' telecommunications division for about $500 million, who was building a fiber optic network across the country and would carry SBC's future service. On November 1, 1999, SBC became a part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

2000–2005: One national brand, and acquisition of AT&T Corporation[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010)

In 2002, SBC ended marketing its operating companies under different names, and simply opted to give its companies different doing business as names based on the state (a practice already in use by Ameritech since 1993), and it gave the holding companies it had purchased d/b/a names based on their general region.

On January 31, 2005, SBC announced that it would purchase AT&T Corporation for more than US$16 billion. The announcement came almost eight years after SBC and AT&T (originally known as the American Telephone and Telegraph Company) called off their first merger talks and nearly a year after initial merger talks between AT&T Corp. and BellSouth fell apart. AT&T stockholders meeting in Denver, approved the merger on June 30, 2005. The U.S. Department of Justice cleared the merger on October 27, 2005, and the Federal Communications Commission approved it on October 31, 2005.

The merger was finalized on November 18, 2005.^[12] Upon the completion of the merger, SBC Communications adopted the AT&T branding, and changed its corporate name to AT&T Inc. to differentiate the company from the former AT&T Corporation. On December 1, 2005, the merged company's New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol was changed from "SBC" to the traditional "T" used by AT&T.

The new AT&T updated the former AT&T's graphic logo (a new "marble" designed by Interbrand took over the "Death Star"); however the existing AT&T sound trademark (voiced by Pat Fleet) continues to be used.

2006: BellSouth acquisition[link]

On Friday December 29, 2006, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the new AT&T's acquisition of a regional Bell Operating Company, BellSouth, valued at approximately $86 billion (or 1.325 shares of AT&T for each share of BellSouth at the close of trading December 29, 2006).^[13] The new combined company retained the name AT&T.^[14] The deal consolidated ownership of both Cingular Wireless and Yellowpages.com, once joint ventures between BellSouth and AT&T. All services, including wireless, became offered under the AT&T name.^[15]

2007–2008 restructuring[link]

Transition to new media[link]

The AT&T Switching Center in downtown Los Angeles.

In June 2007, AT&T's new chairman and CEO, Randall Stephenson, discussed how wireless services are the core of "The New AT&T".^[16] With declining sales of traditional home phone lines, AT&T plans to roll out various new media such as Video Share, U-verse, and to extend its reach in high speed Internet into rural areas across the country. AT&T announced on June 29, 2007, however, that it was acquiring Dobson Communications. It was then reported on October 2, 2007 that AT&T would purchase Interwise^{[clarification needed]} for $121 million, which it completed on November 2, 2007. On October 9, 2007, AT&T purchased 12 MHz of spectrum in the prime 700 MHz spectrum band from privately held Aloha Partners for nearly $2.5 billion; the deal was approved by the FCC on February 4, 2008. On December 4, 2007 AT&T announced plans to acquire Edge Wireless, a regional GSM carrier in the Pacific Northwest.^[17] The Edge Wireless acquisition was completed in April 2008.^[18]

Corporate headquarters move[link]

On June 27, 2008, AT&T announced that it would move its corporate headquarters from 175 East Houston Street in San Antonio to One AT&T Plaza in Downtown Dallas.^[10][19] The company said that it moved to gain better access to its customers and operations throughout the world, and to the key technology partners, suppliers, innovation and human resources needed as it continues to grow, domestically and internationally^[20]

AT&T Inc. previously relocated its corporate headquarters to San Antonio from St. Louis in 1992, when it was then named Southwestern Bell Corporation. The company's Telecom Operations group, which serves residential and regional business customers in 22 U.S. states, remains in San Antonio.^{[citation needed]}

Atlanta continues to be the headquarters for AT&T Mobility, with significant offices in Redmond, Washington, the former home of AT&T Wireless. Bedminster, New Jersey is the headquarters for the company's Global Business Services group and AT&T Labs. St. Louis continues as home to the company's Directory operations, AT&T Advertising Solutions.^[21]

Job cuts[link]

On December 4, 2008, AT&T announced they would be cutting 12,000 jobs due to "economic pressures, a changing business mix and a more streamlined organizational structure".^[22]

Post-consolidation wireless acquisitions[link]

Cellular One acquisition[link]

On June 29, 2007 AT&T announced that they had reached an agreement to purchase Dobson Cellular, which provided services in the US under the name Cellular One in primarily rural areas. The closing price was $2.8B USD, or $13 per share. AT&T also agreed to assume the outstanding debt of $2.3B USD. The sale completed on November 15, 2007, with market transition beginning December 9, 2007.^[23]

Centennial acquisition[link]

On November 11, 2008, AT&T announced a $944 million buyout of Centennial Communications Corp. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval, the approval of Centennial’s stockholders and other customary closing conditions. Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, Centennial’s largest stockholder, has agreed to vote in support of this transaction. In an attempt to quell regulators, on May 9, 2009 AT&T entered an agreement with Verizon Wireless to sell off certain existing Centennial service areas in the states of Louisiana and Mississippi for $240 million pending the successful merger of AT&T and Centennial.^[24]

Wayport acquisition[link]

On December 12, 2008, AT&T acquired Wayport, Inc., a major provider of Internet hotspots in the United States. With the acquisition, AT&T's public Wi-Fi deployment climbed to 20,000 hotspots in the United States, the most of any U.S. provider.^[25]

Qualcomm spectrum[link]

On December 20, 2011, AT&T and Qualcomm announced that AT&T would buy $1.93 billion worth of spectrum from Qualcomm. Formerly used for FLO TV, this spectrum will be used to expand AT&T's 4G wireless services. AT&T already had spectrum for the purpose close to what it is buying.^[26]

Attempted acquisition of T-Mobile USA[link]

On March 20, 2011, AT&T announced its intention to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion from Deutsche Telekom. The deal would have seen the addition of 33.7 million subscribers, making AT&T the largest mobile phone company in the United States.^[27][28] AT&T would have had a 43% market share of mobile phones in the U.S. making AT&T significantly larger than any of its competitors. Regulators questioned the effects such a deal would have had on both competitors and consumers.^[27] AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson however stated that the merger would increase network quality and would lead to large savings for the company. AT&T stated it may have had to sell some assets to gain approval from regulators, but claimed to have done their "homework" on regulations.^[29]

Reaction to the announced merger generated both support as well as opposition among various groups and communities.

The merger gained support from a wide number of civil rights, environmental, and business organizations. These include the NAACP, League of United Latin American Citizens, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and the Sierra Club.^[30] Labor organizations such as the AFL-CIO, Teamsters, and the Communications Workers of America also voiced support for the merger. These organizations pointed to AT&T's commitment to labor, social, and environmental standards. Many of these organizations also cited how the merger is likely to accelerate 4G wireless deployment, thus helping underserved communities such as rural areas and disadvantaged urban communities.^[30] According to the NAACP, the merger would have "advance[d] increased access to affordable and sustainable wireless broadband services and in turn stimulate job creation and civic engagement throughout our country."^[30]

By August 2, 2011, the governors of 26 states had written letters supporting the merger.^[31] On July 27 the attorneys general of Utah, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming sent a joint letter of support to the FCC.^[31] By August 2011 state regulatory agencies in Arizona and Louisiana approved the acquisition.

A diverse group of industry and public-interest organizations opposed AT&T's merger with T-Mobile. Consumer groups including Public Knowledge, Consumers Union, Free Press and the Media Access Project publicly opposed the AT&T merger. These groups attempted to persuade a majority of the Federal Communications Commission and members of Congress. These organizations feared that the merger will raise prices and stifle innovation by consolidating so much of the wireless industry in one company. Free Press and Public Knowledge started letter-writing campaigns against the deal.^[32]

Internet companies were generally skeptical of the merger because it leaves them with fewer counter-parties to negotiate with for getting their content and applications to customers. The AT&T merger might leave them dependent on just two, AT&T and Verizon. The Computer & Communication Industry Association (CCIA), which counts Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and eBay among its members, opposed the merger. "A deal like this, if not blocked on antitrust grounds, is of deep concern to all the innovative businesses that build everything from apps to handsets. It would be hypocritical for our nation to talk about unleashing innovation on one hand and then stand by as threats to innovation like this are proposed," said Ed Black, head of CCIA.^[32]

On April 21, 2011, AT&T defended its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA before a U.S. Senate committee, saying the combined company would deliver high-speed wireless services to 97 percent of Americans and provide consumer benefits such as fewer dropped calls.^[33]

As part of the original negotiations, if AT&T's acquisition of T-Mobile USA were to be rejected by federal regulators, AT&T would need to pay $6 billion, including $3 billion in cash, to T-Mobile USA's parent company Deutsche Telekom.^[34]

On August 31, 2011, the Department of Justice officially filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to block the acquisition.^[35][36]

On November 30, 2011, the FCC allowed AT&T to withdraw their merger, saving both carriers from divulging documentation about internal operations. The FCC cited job loss and higher consumer prices as reasons to deny the merger.^[37]

On December 19, 2011, AT&T announced that it would permanently end its merger bid after a "thorough review of its options". As per the original acquisition agreement, T-Mobile will receive $3 billion in cash as well as access to $1 billion worth of AT&T-held wireless spectrum.^[38]

Political contributions and lobbying[link]

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, AT&T is the second largest donor to United States political campaigns,^[39] and the top American corporate donor,^[40] having contributed more than US$47.7 million since 1990, 56% and 44% of which went to Republican and Democratic recipients, respectively.^[41] Also, during the period of 1998 to 2010, the company expended US$130 million on lobbying in the United States.^[40] A key political issue for AT&T has been the question of which businesses win the right to profit by providing broadband internet access in the United States.^[42]

In 2005, AT&T was among 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.^[43][44][45]

American Legislative Exchange Council[link]

Bill Leahy, representing AT&T, sits on the Private Enterprise Board of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).^[46]

Bell Operating Companies[link]

AT&T payphone signage.

Of the twenty-three Bell Operating Companies which AT&T Corp. owned prior to the 1984 agreement to divest, eleven (BellSouth Telecommunications combines two former BOCs) have become a part of the new AT&T Inc. with the completion of their acquisition of BellSouth Corporation on December 29, 2006:^[47]

• BellSouth Telecommunications (formerly known as Southern Bell; includes former South Central Bell)
• Illinois Bell
• Indiana Bell
• Michigan Bell
• Nevada Bell (formerly known as Bell Telephone Company of Nevada)
• Ohio Bell
• Pacific Bell (formerly Pacific Telephone & Telegraph)
• Southwestern Bell
• Wisconsin Bell (formerly Wisconsin Telephone)
• Southern New England Telephone – Now wholly owned; the original AT&T held 16.8% interest prior to 1984.

Former operating companies[link]

The following companies have gone to defunct status under SBC/AT&T ownership:

• Southwestern Bell Texas – a separate operating company created by SBC, absorbed operations of original SWBT on December 30, 2001 and became Southwestern Bell Telephone, L.P.; eventually merged into SWBT Inc. in 2007 which became the current Southwestern Bell
• Woodbury Telephone – merged into Southern New England Telephone on June 1, 2007.

Corporate structure[link]

AT&T office in San Antonio, Texas with new logo and orange highlight from the former Cingular

AT&T Inc. has retained the holding companies it has acquired over the years resulting in the following corporate structure:

• AT&T Inc., publicly traded holding company
  • Southwestern Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Arkansas, AT&T Kansas, AT&T Missouri, AT&T Oklahoma, AT&T Southwest, AT&T Texas
  • AT&T Teleholdings, Inc. d/b/a AT&T East, AT&T Midwest, AT&T West; formerly Ameritech, acquired in 1999; absorbed Pacific Telesis and SNET Corp. under AT&T ownership
    • Illinois Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Illinois
    • Indiana Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Indiana
    • Michigan Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Michigan
    • The Ohio Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Ohio
    • Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T California
      • Nevada Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Nevada
    • The Southern New England Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Connecticut (includes former Woodbury Telephone)
    • Wisconsin Bell, Inc. d/b/a AT&T Wisconsin
  • AT&T Corp., acquired 2005
    • AT&T Alascom
  • BellSouth Corporation d/b/a AT&T South, acquired 2006
    • BellSouth Telecommunications, LLC d/b/a AT&T Alabama, AT&T Florida, AT&T Georgia, AT&T Louisiana, AT&T Kentucky, AT&T Mississippi, AT&T North Carolina, AT&T South Carolina, AT&T Southeast, AT&T Tennessee
  • AT&T Mobility

Corporate governance[link]

Stephenson at the 2008 World Economic Forum

AT&T's current board of directors:^[48]

• Randall L. Stephenson – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
• James A. Henderson
• Gilbert F. Amelio
• Reuben V. Anderson
• James H. Blanchard
• Jaime Chico Pardo
• James P. Kelly
• Jon C. Madonna
• Lynn M. Martin
• John B. McCoy
• Joyce M. Roché
• Matthew K. Rose
• Laura D'Andrea Tyson

Criticism and controversies[link]

Wireless service[link]

AT&T has received criticisms for its wireless services. In December 2010, Consumer Reports named AT&T as the worst wireless provider in the country.^[49] In 2011, AT&T has been rated the worst wireless provider for the second year in a row.^[50]

In addition, AT&T was sued and lost in a minor lawsuit over its data throttling policies for customers with unlimited data plans. On 27 February 2012, the judge in Simi Valley awarded the iPhone user $850. AT&T had abandoned the decision to appeal.^[51][52]

Censorship[link]

In August 2009, the band Pearl Jam performed in Chicago at Lollapalooza which was being web-broadcast by AT&T. The band, while playing the song "Daughter", started playing a version of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" but with altered lyrics critical of president George Bush. These lyrics included "George Bush, leave this world alone!" and, "George Bush, find yourself another home!". Listeners to AT&T's web broadcast heard only the first line because the rest was censored,^[53] although AT&T spokesman Michael Coe said that the silencing was "a mistake."^[54]

In September 2007, AT&T changed^[55] their legal policy to state that "AT&T may immediately terminate or suspend all or a portion of your Service, any Member ID, electronic mail address, IP address, Universal Resource Locator or domain name used by you, without notice for conduct that AT&T believes"..."(c) tends to damage the name or reputation of AT&T, or its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries."^[56] By October 10, 2007 AT&T had altered the terms and conditions for its Internet service to explicitly support freedom of expression by its subscribers, after an outcry claiming the company had given itself the right to censor its subscribers' transmissions.^[57]

Section 5.1 of AT&T's new terms of service now reads "AT&T respects freedom of expression and believes it is a foundation of our free society to express differing points of view. AT&T will not terminate, disconnect or suspend service because of the views you or we express on public policy matters, political issues or political campaigns."^{[58][dubious – discuss]}

On July 26, 2009, AT&T customers were unable to access certain sections of the image board 4chan, specifically /b/ (the "random" board) and /r9k/ (the "ROBOT 9000" board, a spin-off of the random board).^[59] However, by the morning of Monday, July 27, the block had been lifted and access to the affected boards was restored. AT&T's official reason for the block was that a distributed denial of service attack had originated from the img.4chan.org server, and access was blocked to stop the attack.^[60] Major news outlets have reported that the issue may be related to DDoSing of 4chan, and that the suspicions of 4chan users fell on AnonTalk.com (later AnonTalk.se) at that time for doing this.^[61]

Privacy controversy[link]

File:SER klein exhibits.djvu

In 2006, the Electronic Frontier Foundation lodged a class action lawsuit, Hepting v. AT&T, which alleged that AT&T had allowed agents of the National Security Agency (NSA) to monitor phone and Internet communications of AT&T customers without warrants. If true, this would violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 and the First and Fourth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. AT&T has yet to confirm or deny that monitoring by the NSA is occurring. In April 2006, a retired former AT&T technician, Mark Klein, lodged an affidavit supporting this allegation.^[63][64] The Department of Justice has stated they will intervene in this lawsuit by means of State Secrets Privilege.^[65] In July 2006, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California – in which the suit was filed – rejected a federal government motion to dismiss the case. The motion to dismiss, which invoked the State Secrets Privilege, had argued that any court review of the alleged partnership between the federal government and AT&T would harm national security. The case was immediately appealed to the Ninth Circuit. It was dismissed on June 3, 2009, citing retroactive legislation in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. ^[66] In May 2006, USA Today reported that all international and domestic calling records had been handed over to the National Security Agency by AT&T, Verizon, SBC, and BellSouth for the purpose of creating a massive calling database.^[67] The portions of the new AT&T that had been part of SBC Communications before November 18, 2005 were not mentioned.

On June 21, 2006, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that AT&T had rewritten rules on their privacy policy. The policy, which took effect June 23, 2006, says that "AT&T – not customers – owns customers' confidential info and can use it 'to protect its legitimate business interests, safeguard others, or respond to legal process.' "^[68]

On August 22, 2007, National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell confirmed that AT&T was one of the telecommunications companies that assisted with the government's warrantless wire-tapping program on calls between foreign and domestic sources.^[69]

On November 8, 2007, Mark Klein, a former AT&T technician, told Keith Olbermann of MSNBC that all Internet traffic passing over AT&T lines was copied into a locked room at the company's San Francisco office – to which only employees with National Security Agency clearance had access.^[70]

AT&T keeps for five to seven years a record of who text messages whom and the date and time, but not the content of the messages.^[71]

Intellectual property filtering[link]

In January 2008, the company reported plans to begin filtering all Internet traffic which passes through its network for intellectual property violations.^[72] Commentators in the media have speculated that if this plan is implemented, it would lead to a mass exodus of subscribers leaving AT&T,^[73] although this is misleading as Internet traffic may go through the company's network anyway.^[72] Internet freedom proponents used these developments as justification for government-mandated network neutrality.

Discrimination against local Public-access television channels[link]

AT&T is accused by community media groups of discriminating against local Public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV channels:, by "imposing unfair restrictions that will severely restrict the audience".^[74]

According to Barbara Popovic, Executive Director of the Chicago public-access service CAN-TV, the new AT&T U-verse system forces all Public-access television into a special menu system, denying normal functionality such as channel numbers, access to the standard program guide, and DVR recording.^[74] The Ratepayer Advocates division of the California Public Utilities Commission reported: "Instead of putting the stations on individual channels, AT&T has bundled community stations into a generic channel that can only be navigated through a complex and lengthy process."^[74]

Sue Buske (president of telecommunications consulting firm the Buske Group and a former head of the National Federation of Local Cable Programmers/Alliance for Community Media) argue that this is "an overall attack [...] on public access across the [United States], the place in the dial around cities and communities where people can make their own media in their own communities".^[74]

Information security[link]

In June 2010, a hacker group known as Goatse Security discovered a vulnerability within the AT&T that could allow anyone to uncover email addresses belonging to customers of AT&T 3G service for the Apple iPad.^[75] These email addresses could be accessed without a protective password.^[76] Using a script, Goatse Security collected thousands of email addresses from AT&T.^[75] Goatse Security informed AT&T about the security flaw through a third party.^[77] Goatse Security then disclosed around 114,000 of these emails to Gawker Media, which published an article about the security flaw and disclosure in Valleywag.^[75][77] Praetorian Security Group criticized the web application that Goatse Security exploited as "poorly designed".^[75]

Accusations of enabling fraud[link]

In March 2012, the United States federal government announced a lawsuit against AT&T. The specific accusations state that AT&T "violated the False Claims Act by facilitating and seeking federal payment for IP Relay calls by international callers who were ineligible for the service and sought to use it for fraudulent purposes. The complaint alleges that, out of fears that fraudulent call volume would drop after the registration deadline, AT&T knowingly adopted a non-compliant registration system that did not verify whether the user was located within the United States. The complaint further contends that AT&T continued to employ this system even with the knowledge that it facilitated use of IP Relay by fraudulent foreign callers, which accounted for up to 95 percent of AT&T's call volume. The government's complaint alleges that AT&T improperly billed the TRS Fund for reimbursement of these calls and received millions of dollars in federal payments as a result."^[78]

Naming rights and sponsorships[link]

Buildings[link]

AT&T Midtown Center in Atlanta, Georgia

• AT&T 220 Building – building in Indianapolis, Indiana
• AT&T Building – building in Detroit, Michigan
• AT&T Building – building in Indianapolis, Indiana
• AT&T Building – building in Kingman, Arizona
• AT&T Building – (aka "The Batman Building") in Nashville, Tennessee
• AT&T Building – building in Omaha, Nebraska
• AT&T Building Addition – building in Detroit, Michigan
• AT&T Center – building in Los Angeles
• AT&T Center – building in St. Louis, Missouri
• AT&T City Center – building in Birmingham, Alabama
• AT&T Corporate Center – building in Chicago, Illinois
• AT&T Huron Road Building – building in Cleveland, Ohio
• AT&T Lenox Park Campus – AT&T Mobility Headquarters in DeKalb County just outside Atlanta, Georgia
• AT&T Midtown Center – building in Atlanta, Georgia
• AT&T Switching Center – building in Los Angeles
• AT&T Switching Center – building in Oakland, California
• AT&T Switching Center – building in San Francisco
• AT&T Building – building in San Diego
• Whitacre Tower (One AT&T Plaza) – Corporate Headquarters, Dallas, Texas
• Sony Tower, (formerly the AT&T Building)
• AT&T Tower – building in Jacksonville, FL

Venues[link]

AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas

• AT&T Center – San Antonio, Texas (formerly SBC Center)
• AT&T Field – Chattanooga, Tennessee (formerly BellSouth Park)
• AT&T Park – San Francisco (formerly Pacific Bell Park, SBC Park)
• AT&T Plaza – Chicago, Illinois (public space that hosts the Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park)
• AT&T Plaza – Dallas, Texas (plaza in front of the American Airlines Center at Victory Park)
• AT&T Performing Arts Center – Dallas, Texas
• Jones AT&T Stadium – Lubbock, Texas (formerly Clifford B. and Audrey Jones Stadium, Jones SBC Stadium)
• TPC San Antonio – San Antonio, Texas (AT&T Oaks Course & AT&T Canyons Course)

Sponsorships[link]

• AT&T Champions Classic – Valencia, California
• AT&T Classic – Atlanta, Georgia (formerly BellSouth Classic)
• AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic (formerly Mobil Cotton Bowl Classic, Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl Classic, SBC Cotton Bowl Classic) – played in Arlington, Texas, at Cowboys Stadium.
• AT&T National – Washington, D.C.
• AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
• AT&T Red River Rivalry – Dallas, Texas (formerly Red River Shootout, SBC Red River Rivalry)
• Major League Soccer and the United States Soccer Federation, including the U.S. men's and U.S. women's national teams and the Major League Soccer All-Star Game from 2009
• United States Olympic team^[79]
• National Collegiate Athletic Association (Corporate Champion)^[80]

Miscellaneous[link]

• AT&T (SEPTA station) – Public Transportation Station in Philadelphia, PA

Global presence[link]

AT&T offers services in many locations throughout the Asia Pacific; its regional headquarters is located in Hong Kong.^[81]

Enterprise SIP Trunking Services[link]

In 2008, Toshiba announced SIP interoperability with the AT&T IP Flexible Reach service, and this partnership would improve Toshiba's IP-PBX offerings.^[82] In 2010, AT&T combined its virtual private network (VPN) service with its IP Flexible Reach.^[83]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: AT&T

	Dallas-Fort Worth portal
	Texas portal
	Companies portal

• AT&T Internet Services
• AT&T Corporation
• AT&T Mobility
• att.net
• Bell System
• Bell System Divestiture
• Communications Assistance For Law Enforcement Act
• Hepting v. AT&T
• Lists of public utilities
• Modification of Final Judgment
• NSA warrantless surveillance
• PRX (telephony)
• Regional Bell Operating Company
• Toktumi
• Tying of the iPhone to AT&T

References[link]

External links[link]

Corporate information

• Official website
• Brand evolution of AT&T companies
• AT&T History and science resources at The Franklin Institute's Case Files online exhibit
• Press Release announcing FCC Approval of SBC-Ameritech merger (October 6, 1999)

Articles

• Thierer, Adam D.. "Unnatural Monopoly: Critical Moments in the Development of the Bell System Monopoly". cato.org. http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cjv14n2-6.html. 
• "AT&T buys IBM's Global Network". BBC News. December 8, 1998. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/230831.stm. 
• Reardon, Marguerite (November 18, 2005). "SBC closes AT&T acquisition". CNet News. http://news.cnet.com/SBC+closes+AT38T+acquisition/2100-1036_3-5961206.html. 
• Reardon, Marguerite (March 5, 2006). "AT&T to buy BellSouth for $67 billion". CNet News. http://news.cnet.com/AT38T+to+buy+BellSouth+for+67+billion/2100-1037_3-6046081.html. 
• "AT&T Whistleblower to Urge Senate to Reject Blanket Immunity for Telecoms". Electronic Frontier Foundation. http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2007/11/05. 

Links to related articles v t e Components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average Current 3M Alcoa American Express AT&T Bank of America Boeing Caterpillar Chevron Cisco Systems The Coca-Cola Company DuPont ExxonMobil General Electric Hewlett-Packard The Home Depot Intel IBM Johnson & Johnson JPMorgan Chase Kraft Foods McDonald's Merck & Co. Microsoft Pfizer Procter & Gamble The Travelers Companies United Technologies Corporation Verizon Communications Walmart The Walt Disney Company Selected former Altria Group American International Group American Tobacco Company Bethlehem Steel Citigroup Colorado Fuel and Iron Kodak General Foods General Motors Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company Honeywell International Harvester International Paper Johns Manville Nash Motors Navistar International North American Company Owens-Illinois Sears, Roebuck and Company Union Carbide United States Rubber Company U.S. Steel F. W. Woolworth Company v t e United States telephone companies Alaska Communications · Alaska Power and Telephone Company · AT&T · CenturyLink · Cincinnati Bell · EarthLink (Deltacom) · Emery Telcom · FairPoint · Frontier · GCI · Hawaiian Telcom · Claro - Puerto Rico Telephone · TDS · tw telecom · Verizon · Windstream (Cavalier Telephone, PAETEC) · XO Communications · Zayo v t e Spinoffs of American Telephone & Telegraph Company   First Generation 1956 Bell Canada Northern Electric 1984 Divestiture Ameritech Bell Atlantic Bell Communications Research BellSouth NYNEX Pacific Telesis Southwestern Bell U S WEST 1996 Lucent Technologies NCR 1997 AT&T Submarine System sold to Tyco International 2001 AT&T Wireless Services 2003 AT&T Broadband   Second Generation Spinoffs Lucent Technologies Advanced American Telephones (2000) Avaya (2000) QLT Consumer Lease Services (2000) Agere Systems (2002) MediaOne Group (f/k/a U S WEST) U S WEST (1998) NCR Teradata (2007) Pacific Telesis AirTouch (1994) Qwest Dex Media (2002) Regional Bells Telcordia Technologies (1997) SBC Communications/AT&T DonTech (2004) YP Holdings (2012) Verizon Communications Hawaiian Telcom (2005) Idearc (2006) Northern New England Spinco (2008) New Communications Holdings (2010) v t e Bell System   Corporate Operations Holding Company American Telephone and Telegraph Company   Local Telephone Operations Bell Operating Companies Bell Telephone Company of Nevada The Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company of Maryland The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company of West Virginia The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia Diamond State Telephone Illinois Bell Indiana Bell Michigan Bell Mountain Bell New England Telephone New Jersey Bell New York Telephone Northwestern Bell Ohio Bell Pacific Northwest Bell Pacific Telephone South Central Bell Southern Bell Southwestern Bell Wisconsin Telephone Franchisees Southern New England Telephone Cincinnati Bell   Other AT&T Subsidiaries Manufacturing Western Electric R&D Operations Bell Labs Long Distance Services AT&T Long Lines Wireless Services Advanced Mobile Phone Service   Historical Commemorative Bell Telephone Memorial Defunct Bell Telephone Company, National Bell Telephone Company, American Bell Telephone Company New England Telephone and Telegraph Company International Bell Telephone Company The Bell Telephone Company of Canada v t e Telecommunications (general) History Beacons Broadcasting Communications satellites Computer networks Drums Electrical telegraphs Fax Heliographs Hydraulic telegraphs Internet Mass media Mobile phones Optical telegraphy Photophones Radio Radiotelephones Telegraphy Telephones The Telephone Cases Television Undersea telegraph lines Videophones Pioneers Edwin Howard Armstrong John Logie Baird Alexander Graham Bell Tim Berners-Lee Jagadish Chandra Bose Vint Cerf Claude Chappe Lee De Forest Philo Farnsworth Reginald Fessenden Elisha Gray Guglielmo Marconi Alexander Stepanovich Popov Johann Philipp Reis Nikola Tesla Alfred Vail Charles Wheatstone Vladimir K. Zworykin Media Coaxial cable Free-space optical Optical fiber Radio waves Telephone lines Terrestrial microwave Networks ARPANET BITNET Ethernet FidoNet ISDN Internet Local area Mobile NGN Packet switched Public Switched Telephone Radio Television Telex Wide area World Wide Web Wireless Geographic v t e Telecommunications in Africa Sovereign states Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe States with limited recognition Azawad Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland Dependencies and other territories Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla / Plazas de soberanía (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom) Western Sahara v t e Telecommunications in Asia Sovereign states Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma (Myanmar) Cambodia People's Republic of China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen States with limited recognition Abkhazia Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus Palestine Republic of China (Taiwan) South Ossetia Dependencies and other territories British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong Macau v t e Telecommunications in Europe Sovereign states Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales States with limited recognition Abkhazia Kosovo Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus South Ossetia Transnistria Dependencies and other territories Åland Faroe Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man Svalbard Other entities European Union v t e Telecommunications in North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States Dependencies and other territories Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Navassa Island Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands v t e Telecommunications in Oceania Sovereign states Australia East Timor (Timor-Leste) Fiji Indonesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Federated States of Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Dependencies and other territories American Samoa Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands Easter Island French Polynesia Guam Hawaii New Caledonia Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Pitcairn Islands Tokelau Wallis and Futuna v t e Telecommunications in South America Sovereign states Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela Dependencies and other territories Aruba Bonaire Curaçao Falkland Islands French Guiana South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands v t e Major information technology companies List of the largest technology companies List of the largest software companies Semiconductor sales leaders by year Consulting and outsourcing Accenture Atos Booz Allen Hamilton BT CACI Capgemini CGI Group Cognizant CSC Deloitte Dell Services Fujitsu Getronics HCL Technologies Hitachi HP IBM Indra Infosys Logica NEC NTT Data Orange Business Services TCS Tieto T-Systems Unisys Wipro Imaging Canon HP Kodak Kyocera Lexmark Ricoh Seiko Epson Sharp Toshiba Xerox Information storage Dell EMC Fujitsu Hitachi HP IBM NetApp Oracle Samsung Seagate Western Digital Mainframes IBM Mobile devices Apple Asus HTC Huawei LG Motorola Mobility NEC Casio Nokia RIM Samsung Sony ZTE Networking equipment Alcatel-Lucent Avaya Cisco Datang Ericsson Fujitsu HP Huawei Juniper Mitsubishi Electric Motorola Solutions NEC Nokia Siemens ZTE OEMs Celestica Compal Electronics Flextronics Foxconn Jabil Quanta Sanmina-SCI TPV Technology Wistron Personal computers and servers Acer Apple Asus Dell Fujitsu HP Lenovo NEC Toshiba Servers only IBM Oracle Unisys Point of sale IBM NCR Semiconductors Advanced Micro Devices Broadcom Elpida Memory Freescale Semiconductor Fujitsu Hynix Infineon Technologies Intel Marvell Technology Group MediaTek Micron Technology Nvidia NXP Panasonic Qualcomm Renesas Electronics Samsung Sony STMicroelectronics Texas Instruments Toshiba VIA Technologies Foundries GlobalFoundries SMIC TowerJazz TSMC United Microelectronics Corporation Software Adobe Apple CA Google HP IBM Intuit McAfee Microsoft Oracle SAP Symantec Telecommunications services América Móvil AT&T Bell Canada BT Bharti Airtel CenturyLink China Mobile China Telecom China Unicom Comcast Deutsche Telekom France Télécom Hutchison KDDI KPN KT MTS NTT NTT DoCoMo Reliance Communications Rogers SingTel SK Telecom SoftBank Sprint Nextel Swisscom Telenor Telecom Italia Telefónica TeliaSonera Verizon Vivendi Vodafone Websites Amazon.com Baidu eBay Facebook Google Tencent Yahoo! Methodology: FY2010/11 applicable revenues of over: group 1-11 (ex. semiconductor foundries) - US$3 billion; group 12 - US$10 billion; group 13 - US$2 billion; semiconductor foundries - US$0.5 billion