AT&T to Boost Spectrum, Diversify Phones

The Dallas, Texas-based carrier reported a $6.7 billion loss in the last quarter of 2011, largely due to the break-up fee it paid T-Mobile after its plan to acquire the carrier fell through late last year. AT&T paid T-Mobile $3 billion in cash as a breakup fee, and will transfer $1 billion in spectrum and roaming agreements to the struggling carrier.

The news is not all bad for AT&T, however. A wave of iPhone 4S activations added new subscribers and bumped up the carrier's revenues four percent as the year closed, showing the company still plans to stay profitable and competitive as it refines its strategy for 2012.

AT&T's main concern moving forward is spectrum, CEO Randall Stephenson said in an earnings report conference call. He criticized the Federal Communications Commission's stricter standards governing deals between wireless carriers, and said his biggest problem is figuring out what steps his company can take in terms of acquiring more spectrum to fuel its subscribers' ever-growing need for data.

Smartphone growth is largely responsible for AT&T's increased revenue, but it is also a double-edged sword. More data-hungry devices lead to bigger bandwidth requirements and AT&T, along with its rival carriers, faces a serious spectrum shortage.

AT&T expected to greet this year with T-Mobile's assets providing a comfortable spectrum cushion, but as it picks up the pieces after its merger failure, the nation's number-two carrier must consider other options.

The company purchased spectrum from Qualcomm, but still needs more to satisfy its growing subscriber base. Any further deals the company enters in its spectrum quest will also undergo FCC scrutiny.

AT&T posted a fourth-quarter gain of more than 700,000 new customers with long-term contracts. More than half of this subscriber growth was due to iPhone 4S activations, however, underscoring the carrier's dependence on Apple's device.

AT&T plans to diversify its offerings this year, trying to offset the large fee it pays Apple to carry its top-selling smartphone. It may place higher priority on growing its prepaid plans, especially as it moves more customers to 4G LTE phones and frees up 3G spectrum for lower-end devices.

The carrier is also banking on the new line of Nokia Windows phones to make inroads with consumers. Nokia will launch its flagship Windows device, the Lumia 900, at AT&T later this year for a reported bargain price of $100, which will help kick off sales for the new line, diversify AT&T's smartphone catalog, and draw in new subscribers.