AT&T’s wireless wherewithal in question

Even though AT&T reported a strong first quarter for wireless subscribers, some analysts think the operator may be stepping off the 5G playing field as it focuses on other parts of its business. “It appears that management has chosen to focus its limited resources on HBO Max and on fiber deployments rather than try to keep pace with the network investments Verizon and T-Mobile are making in wireless,” wrote New Street Research analyst Jonathan Chaplin. New Street has pointed out before that AT&T’s plan for mid-band 5G, including C-band deployment timelines and capital spending, trails behind that of T-Mobile and Verizon. AT&T continues to flex subscriber results from its customer retention and promotional strategy, with 595,000 net wireless phone additions in Q1. Still, the amount of money it’s pulling in per user (average revenue per user or ARPU) declined almost 3%. And Wells Fargo analysts question how long it can last.