Disposing of more assets, AT&T agreed to sell cable systems in several more states to Charter Communications and considered offering its 25.5% stake in Time Warner Entertainment (TWE) to public investors. AT&T, which has already shaved its debt load to $46 billion from high of $65 billion last year, aims to raise as much as $12 billion through 2 separate actions. Analysts still expect company to take further steps to pare down its debt, including spinoff of its Liberty Media programming unit and sales of its stakes in Comcast, Cablevision Systems and European wireless operations that it inherited from MediaOne.
Unless policymakers crack down on Bell companies, AT&T may have to leave markets where it now offers local phone service and not enter new ones, AT&T Chmn. Michael Armstrong said Wed. in speech at National Press Club. On eve of Telecom Act’s 5th anniversary, Armstrong said AT&T, Sprint and other competitors have had so much difficulty breaking into local markets that it might not make sense to keep trying. Biggest problem is inability to lease unbundled network elements (UNEs) at reasonable prices, he said: “We cannot continue to lose money to force competition. If competing doesn’t make business sense, it’s not going to happen.” Armstrong told reporters after speech that AT&T would “no longer go into markets and lose big sums just to show we're competing.” If nothing changes, “we will be forced to shut down our local service business in N.Y. and Tex.,” he said.