What AT&T Rural Rumors Could Mean for Broadband Universal Service

By the time AT&T announces its rural strategy next month, there may be very little left to announce. Just a few days after Fitch Ratings predicted that AT&T would upgrade rural lines using DSL or wireless, financial analyst George Notter at Jefferies & Company said he expects AT&T to upgrade three to five million out of 18 million rural lines to U-verse, with the remainder gaining broadband access via an LTE-based offering.

Notter’s predictions are not based on leaks from inside AT&T but instead are based on his analysis of U-verse economics. Jefferies & Company’s 18 million line number refers to lines which do not have FiOS available to them and are scattered across 80% of AT&T’s service territory. Notter does not speculate whether the LTE offering would be mobile or fixed, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see AT&T opt for a fixed offering similar to Verizon Wireless’s HomeFusion LTE product, which uses a fixed antenna to enhance signal strength. Notter also believes some AT&T rural lines will receive no upgrade.