I just had a conversation with an Ericsson PM who was shocked we didn’t already know that E was taking over as the lone RAN infrastructure vendor. T will swap out radios, baseband units at every Nokia site over the course of 36 months (optimistic timeline). This won’t actually begin for another 8-12 months given the logistics, site acq and design required. RAN design will transition to Ericsson in 2024 (T layoffs) At the conclusion of the project (36 months from construction start), E will take over RAN performance and optimization services for AT&T. AT&T RAN design engineers have about 6-12 months left and perf/opt engineers have 36-48 months before being let go or transitioned to Ericsson. You can thank Stankey for this shameful mess.
12 replies (most recent on top)
Coming from someone that worked for Sprint/Ericsson then laid off 6 months later, I’ve seen a similarity to this with att. But don’t worry, Stank will leave with his multi million dollar parachute and Ericsson will destroy the network just like Sprint. Once E has their claws in you after deal is signed, it’s over. Good luck
“ AT&T C&E will need to land a new job with Brook Consultants (or suppliers Brooks will hire) if they want to stay employed. There is no way leadership will use local C&E to pull off this swap since the timelines are very aggressive. It takes AT&T C&E 36 months just to complete SAQ. This has been a fun ride, but the end is near.”
You somehow believe a 3rd party is going to complete SA quicker? You haven’t paid attention to what occurred in the past when T used vendors to perform site acq work. Delays, mistakes, confusion, lawsuits have all resulted. Transistioning half the network RAN infrastructure to another vendor will take a minimum of 3 years to complete while continuing BAU build plan. It will be that long before the like of personnel cuts they want to make can happen.
AT&T C&E will need to land a new job with Brook Consultants (or suppliers Brooks will hire) if they want to stay employed. There is no way leadership will use local C&E to pull off this swap since the timelines are very aggressive. It takes AT&T C&E 36 months just to complete SAQ. This has been a fun ride, but the end is near.
This will get forced along no matter how destructive it is to the network and the customers. ATT is a regulated monopoly company that doesn't care and has never cared about the customers. The customers and the network are irrelevant to the C-Suite and Board.
It's so very fitting too that ATT is crawling under the covers with the mega-sl--eball company Ericsson. They will just outsource everything to their "international partners". It will just be a mountain of Habibs doing everything in a sweatshop work environment. That's Ericsson.
Be on the lookout for a vendor named Brook Consultants, they will be managing the RAN for Ericsson under the new agreement between Ericson and AT&T. They are currently building sites for AT&T on Ericsson's behalf; they are one of the worst companies in telecommunication, but, they are in bed with Ericsson. Good luck guys!
Mastec will get East Region - Pearce West Region for maintenance.
This reveals a clear and complete lack of understanding by Stankey and his minions about how the network operates and whom actually is responsible for keeping it operating at very high level while serving as the catch all and go to for all things network related. When there are network issues, customer issues, construction issues etc..everyone runs to RAN and RAN provides answers and resolutions. They are front line closest to the network. When local RAN disappears, network quality and customer satisfaction will tank…mark my words. This will be the end of AT&T as a competitive quality service provider.
Really no surprise - I'm RF-adjacent & have to go to them with questions occasionally, the response always begins with, "let me go ask our Ericsson contractor."
Any wagers on how much CIP will get written off once this great idea fails to deliver???
The logistics involved with securing site acq approval, finding and scheduling crews and manufacturing and making available the equipment alone is loooong process. 3 years is highly optimistic to say the least
Depending on the cost equation it won’t take 10 years or even 36 months. Understand there are a lot of moving pieces that never meet fruition and the insane debt levels are a factor and might be a hindrance. However I have seen some big, internal initiatives get completed ahead of schedule if the big boys really push it.
HA!! We all know that 36 months in AT&T time = 10 years which means another scrapped decision made mid-way after spending billions fruitlessly
Here we go again