OPERATING SEGMENTS
Our segments are strategic business units that offer different products and
services over various technology platforms and are managed accordingly. We analyze
our various operating segments based on segment income before income taxes.
We make our capital allocations decisions primarily based on the network (wireless
or wireline) providing services. Actuarial gains and losses from pension and
other postretirement benefits, interest expense and other income (expense) –
net, are managed only on a total company basis and are, accordingly, reflected
only in consolidated results. Therefore, these items are not included in the
calculation of each segment’s percentage of our total segment income.
We have four reportable segments: (1) Wireless; (2) Wireline; (3) Advertising
Solutions; and (4) Other.
WIRELESS
Wireless consists of our subsidiary, AT&T Mobility, which operates as a
wireless provider to both business and consumer customers.
Services and Products
We offer a comprehensive range of high-quality nationwide wireless voice and
data communications services in a variety of pricing plans, including postpaid
and prepaid service plans. Our offerings are tailored to meet the communications
needs of targeted customer segments, including youth, family, active professionals,
small businesses, government and major national corporate accounts.
Equipment – We sell a wide variety of handsets, wirelessly enabled computers
(i.e., notebooks and tablets) and personal computer wireless data cards manufactured
by various suppliers for use with our voice and data services. We sell through
our own company-owned stores or through agents or third-party retail stores.
We also sell accessories, such as carrying cases, hands-free devices, batteries,
battery chargers and other items, to consumers, as well as to agents and other
third-party distributors for resale. Like other wireless service providers,
we often provide postpaid contract subscribers substantial equipment subsidies
to initiate or upgrade service.
WIRELINE
Our Wireline subsidiaries provide both retail and wholesale communication services
domestically and internationally. Our Wireline segment provided approximately
49% of 2010 segment operating revenues and 34% of our 2010 total segment income.
We divide our wireline services into three product-based categories: voice,
data and other. Revenues from our traditional voice services have been declining
as customers have been switching to wireless, cable and other Internet-based
providers. In addition, the continuing weak economy has caused wireline customers
to terminate their residential or business phone service as individuals have
lost jobs or otherwise combined households and businesses have closed or reduced
operations. We have responded by offering packages of combined voice and data
services, including broadband and video, and intend to continue this strategy
during 2011.
Services and Products
Voice – Voice includes traditional local and long-distance service provided
to retail customers and wholesale access to our network and individual network
elements provided to competitors. We also have a number of integrated voice
and data services, such as integrated network connections, that provide customers
the ability to integrate access for their voice and data services, the data
component of which is included in the data category. Additionally, voice revenues
do not include any of our VoIP revenues, which are included in data revenues.
Long distance consists of traditional long distance and international long
distance for customers that select us as their primary long-distance carrier.
Long distance also includes services provided by calling card, 1-800 services
and conference calling. These services are used in a wide variety of business
applications, including sales, reservation centers or customer service centers.
We also provide wholesale switched access service to other service providers.
Voice also includes calling features, fees to maintain wire located inside
customer premises and other miscellaneous voice products. Calling features are
enhanced telephone services available to retail customers such as Caller ID,
Call Waiting and voice mail. These calling features services are generally more
profitable than basic local phone service.
Data – We provide data services that rely on IP-based technology and
data services that rely on older, circuit-based technology. Approximately 70
percent of our data customers have transitioned from using our circuit-based
services to using our IP-based services and we expect that trend to continue.
We provide businesses voice applications over IP-based networks (i.e., Enhanced
Virtual Private Networks or “EVPN”). Over the past several years,
we have built out our new multi-protocol label switching/asynchronous transfer
mode, or MPLS/ATM network, to supplement, and eventually replace, our other
extensive global networks. These products allow us to provide highly complex
global data networks. Additional IP-based services include Internet access and
network integration, dedicated Internet and enterprise networking services,
U-verse services and related data equipment sales.
Other – Other includes application management, security service, integration
services, customer premises equipment, outsourcing, government-related services,
and satellite video services. Security services include business continuity and
disaster recovery services as well as premise and network based security products.
ADVERTISING SOLUTIONS
Advertising Solutions includes our directory operations, which publish Yellow
and White Pages directories and sell directory advertising and Internet-based
advertising and local search. The Advertising Solutions segment provided approximately
3% of total segment operating revenues and 4% of our 2010 total segment income.
This segment sells advertising services throughout the United States, with our
print directory operations primarily covering our 22-state area.
OTHER
Our Other segment includes customer information services (i.e., operator services)
and corporate and other operations, as well as impacts from corporate-wide decisions
for which the individual operating segments are not being evaluated, including
interest cost and expected return on pension and postretirement benefits.