We have a negative outlook on the telecom-services sector, preferring smaller, rural providers and one in Canada that, in our view, have stable margins and are paying out dividends and buying back stock.
It's not that things are getting better. But things aren't getting worse, as many are expecting,
It's a fact that Alltel has a complementary mix.
We were expecting there would have been an improvement on the cost synergy side. We still don't expect there will be benefits to the top line from the merger in 2006.
These deals leave standalone entities in a precarious position given likely competition from larger companies. BellSouth and Qwest have to decide how important a national presence is.
There are a lot of accounting issues that have taken place under prior management that haven't gone away and don't appear to be dissipating.
Competition is going to rear its ugly head as companies cross over into each other's territory, ... Price has always been the key focus for telecom. It's a commodity business.
There is a need to reduce telecom competition but there are greater opportunities in wireless than long-distance.
AT&T's job cuts and write-down of its network are an effort to go-it alone and generate as much cash to support its dividend. I don't think AT&T is primping for the prom.
AT&T has said it will be aggressive on price but it has never been as aggressive as MCI.
