AT&T Says AT&T Wireless Broke Their Brand
from the whoops. dept
It never really made sense when AT&T spun out AT&T Wireless that they let the mobile company keep the name. It was clearly very confusing to customers who still think they're the same company and it was a clear risk to AT&T's brand -- as well as their ability to offer their own wireless service at another point in the future. While it was clear that AT&T was just trying to cash in on the hype around wireless, the fact that they didn't realize that wireless had to be a part of their future was a bit scary. Of course, among the many things that did happen was that AT&T Wireless faltered and did, indeed, harm the overall AT&T brand name. So, while they're in the process of (maybe) selling out to Cingular, and AT&T wants the name back, many are questioning whether that's a good idea. AT&T Wireless has such a weak reputation right now that starting a new mobile phone service under that brand may be an uphill battle. AT&T is now suggesting that AT&T Wireless broke their agreement by screwing up the brand and being so poor at customer service. Right now, honestly, this looks more like a negotiating ploy concerning the return of the name, because if the Cingular deal does go through, then it shouldn't much matter any more if the old AT&T Wireless can't use the name any more.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]