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takyon writes:

AT&T will slash $3 billion off its capital investments next year

AT&T is planning to spend just $20 billion on capital investment in 2020, down from $23 billion this year. [...] The company is on pace to exceed its 2019 goal as it averaged more than $6 billion per quarter in the first three quarters. But with a forecast of $20 billion across all of 2020, AT&T expects to spend about $5 billion per quarter on capital investments going forward. The company is under pressure from investors to control spending, in part because its TV business is tanking and because of AT&T's giant debt load stemming from the purchases of DirecTV and Time Warner.

[...] AT&T's capital spending will decline next year despite the company's plan to roll 5G mobile service out nationwide. AT&T already got much of the 5G spending out of the way by purchasing spectrum licenses, and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson told investors that the company's "strong spectrum position will allow for lower capital intensity" over the next three years.

AT&T has also mostly stopped its fiber-to-the-home broadband construction even though large portions of its 21-state territory still have only copper-based DSL service. Fiber deployment isn't stopping completely, as Stephenson said that "5G requires us to continue deploying fiber." But AT&T customers who can't get modern broadband speeds or reliable wireline service in their homes would welcome more capital investment in their neighborhoods.

Related: AT&T Lays Off Thousands After Nabbing Billions In Tax Breaks And Regulatory Favors
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AT&T Employees Took Bribes to Plant Malware on the Company's Network
AT&T Turns On 5G In New York, But It Still Isn't Available To Consumers
Lawsuit: AT&T Signed Customers Up for DirecTV Now Without Their Knowledge
AT&T Considers Getting Rid of DirecTV as TV Business Tanks, WSJ Reports

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