For months, many AT&T customers had been expressing their dissatisfaction. Complaints on social media, promises to switch to competitors, and messages in specialized forums foreshadowed what was to come. Now, the numbers confirm it: Americans have started to turn their backs on the telecommunications giant.
The company is striving to keep a strong image. But the reality is that it is going through one of the most delicate moments in recent years.
In the second quarter of the year, AT&T suffered the highest churn rate among the country's main mobile operators. This figure has put the entire sector on alert. The churn rate reflects how many customers leave the mobile service or switch companies in a specific period.
Generally, it is measured every quarter, and for any company in the sector, an increase in this indicator is very bad news. In this case, the impact has been clear. The churn rate in postpaid services has risen from 0.70% to 0.87% compared to the same period last year.
This increase of 17 basis points represents a significant blow to the image of stability that AT&T tries to project.
AT&T tries to see the bright side
This sharp increase has even overshadowed the positive news. For example, the company managed to add more than 400,000 new customers in the postpaid phone segment during the same quarter. However, the number of users who have chosen to leave the service is too high to ignore.
Despite the net growth in subscribers, that leaves a bittersweet taste in the company's accounts. But what has led so many Americans to leave AT&T? One of the main factors has been the increase in rates. Throughout the year, the operator applied a price hike to its oldest unlimited plans.
For those with a single line, the increase was $10 per month. Meanwhile, customers with multiple lines saw an increase of up to $20. In addition, the automatic payment discount, which used to be $10, was reduced to just $5 if the payment is made with a debit card.
Curiously, AT&T's own CEO, John Stankey, doesn't believe the problem lies in the rates. According to him, every price change is backed by an analysis of the added value customers receive. He assures that they try to adjust prices fairly, relating them to service improvements.
The company's CFO, Pascal Desroches, offered other explanations. Among them, he mentioned the increase in competition in the market, the end of financing contracts by some users. He even went so far as to blame the Trump administration's immigration policy.
According to Desroches, the deportation of undocumented immigrants has negatively affected the prepaid market. This is another important segment for AT&T.