AT&T (NYSE: T) is implementing its network growth plan, borne out in its 4Q24 and full-year 2024 results. “Our investment in 5G and fiber is fueling this sustained growth,” stated John Stankey, AT&T CEO. “This is why we’re focused on building a durable franchise for the long-term.”
The company’s approach aims to offer converged wireless and broadband services to a significant portion of its customer base. In 2024, AT&T Fiber passed 2.4 million consumer and business locations, bringing the total to 28.9 million passings across its 21-state operating area. By the end of 2024, AT&T reported 9.3 million fiber broadband customer connections, a 12 percent year-over-year increase, with one million fiber net adds for the year.
Notably, 3.7 million or 40 percent of AT&T Fiber subscribers are also AT&T Mobility subscribers. The company points out that expansion of its fiber footprint enhances opportunities to provide mobility services to these customer segments, further executing on its convergence strategy.
At a growth rate of more than two million locations passed annually, AT&T aims to reach over 50 million location passings by 2029, including 45 million AT&T-owned locations and another 5 million through its Gigapower JV and commercial open access partnerships, Inside Towers reported.
AT&T Internet Air (AIA), the company’s fixed wireless access brand that it counts as part of wireline broadband services, grew by adding 542,000 connections in 2024, reaching 635,000 by the end of 2024. AT&T uses AIA strategically to provide subscribers currently using copper-based DSL service with broadband in areas where fiber may take time to reach or might not be deployed.
AT&T Mobility’s subscriber base reached over 108 million at the end of 4Q24, a two percent YoY increase with nearly 2.2 million net adds for the year. Mobility service revenues increased three percent YoY to $16.6 billion. AT&T continues to upgrade and expand its mobile network with mid-band 3.45 GHz and C-band spectrum, expecting to cover over 300 million people with 5G mid-band spectrum by 2029.
Capital expenditure for the year was $22.1 billion, down 17 percent from peak spending in 2022 and 2023, when it accelerated its 5G deployments with C-band. While AT&T does not break out its wireline and wireless capex allocations, the company is spending about 55 percent of its total capex on its fiber buildout, according to Inside Towers Intelligence.
Future investments for C-band will be integrated into overall wireless capex. Moreover, the company has reduced its reliance on vendor financing. AT&T’s 2025 capex guidance of $22 billion includes roughly $20.5 billion funded from cash flow and an incremental $1.5 billion from vendor financing such as that received from Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), its primary network equipment vendor. AT&T expects to maintain capex levels at $22 billion a year through 2027, after which it anticipates reducing the pace of its network buildout.
For 2025, AT&T projects wireless service revenue growth at the high end of a 2-3 percent range, and consumer fiber broadband revenues in the mid-teen’s percentage.
By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor
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