At&T Strategic Analysis
I. INTRODUCTION
AT&T is a leader in telecommunication services, including cell phones, wireless, U-verse, digital TV, high speed internet, DSL, and home phone. The company currently has lost its exclusive i-Phone contract with Apple, and one of its main competitors, Verizon, has come out with the 4G network. These all cause AT&T to lost customers. Now the company is trying to acquire T-Mobile to further expand its market. The deal is valued at $39 billion.
II. SITUATION ANALYSIS
A. General Environment Analysis
Definition: the general environment is focused on the future and can be analyzed by considering the STEEP framework: Social/demographic, Technological, Economic, Environmental/geographic and Political/legal/governmental factors at play, and then predict how those trends will affect AT&T in the next several years.
Social/Demographic:
• Younger generation is more inclined to use cell phones with extravagant wireless plans, leading to greater telecommunications consumption
• The demand for smart phone applications is increasing tremendouslybecause of the increasing young age structure and raising IT literacy
Technological:
• Increases in the amount of entertainment content offered through cell phones make innovation a must for telecommunication companies to survive in a fast-changing environment
Economic:
• The economic crisis decreases consumer discretionary spending, forcing companies to offer more economical alternatives to maintain sales volume
Environmental (physical environment):
• Increased environmental awareness among customers will likely be an opportunity for companies to gain further sales/benefits (e.g. recycling old cell phones)
Political/Legal/Governmental:
• Increased concerns about piracy and digital rights management issues make the offering of entertainment content through new media legally complicated and costly
Overall Assessment: The changing customer needs highlighted in the social/demographic section will offer AT&T the
AT&T is a leader in telecommunication services, including cell phones, wireless, U-verse, digital TV, high speed internet, DSL, and home phone. The company currently has lost its exclusive i-Phone contract with Apple, and one of its main competitors, Verizon, has come out with the 4G network. These all cause AT&T to lost customers. Now the company is trying to acquire T-Mobile to further expand its market. The deal is valued at $39 billion.
II. SITUATION ANALYSIS
A. General Environment Analysis
Definition: the general environment is focused on the future and can be analyzed by considering the STEEP framework: Social/demographic, Technological, Economic, Environmental/geographic and Political/legal/governmental factors at play, and then predict how those trends will affect AT&T in the next several years.
Social/Demographic:
• Younger generation is more inclined to use cell phones with extravagant wireless plans, leading to greater telecommunications consumption
• The demand for smart phone applications is increasing tremendouslybecause of the increasing young age structure and raising IT literacy
Technological:
• Increases in the amount of entertainment content offered through cell phones make innovation a must for telecommunication companies to survive in a fast-changing environment
Economic:
• The economic crisis decreases consumer discretionary spending, forcing companies to offer more economical alternatives to maintain sales volume
Environmental (physical environment):
• Increased environmental awareness among customers will likely be an opportunity for companies to gain further sales/benefits (e.g. recycling old cell phones)
Political/Legal/Governmental:
• Increased concerns about piracy and digital rights management issues make the offering of entertainment content through new media legally complicated and costly
Overall Assessment: The changing customer needs highlighted in the social/demographic section will offer AT&T the