AT&T Boss Seeks To Fix CT Business Climate

Q: You most recently were assistant vice president for AT&T in Washington, D.C. Why was your extensive congressional experience important for becoming president of AT&T in Connecticut?

A: In Washington, I was a facilitator between the company and key national policymakers. I am also an adjunct professor in the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University where I’ve taught corporate public affairs and managing government relations for the past five years — and many of my students come from Capitol Hill, think tanks of all persuasions, and a number of corporations. I’m a former newspaper reporter and corporate public affairs executive so, in many respects, Connecticut provides a wonderfully unique opportunity to combine this diverse background.

Q: The announcement of your promotion said, in part, you will “work closely with community leaders, elected officials, stakeholders and others to bring the best technology — including AT&T U-verse video service — to more Connecticut consumers.” That seems to imply there is resistance to U-verse. Is it from consumers or is this more of a reaction to competition?

A: Connecticut consumers have really embraced U-verse. They love the product and why not? It’s finally giving them a choice to their cable company. In fact we have more than 2.1 million U-verse customers nationwide and we added more U-verse TV subscribers last quarter than any of our cable competitors. The competition, no they don’t like us so much but that’s only natural and that’s a good sign for consumers if our competitors are hearing our footsteps.

Q: You’re quoted in the release as saying, “I look forward to working with the state’s leaders to ensure that more of Connecticut’s consumers realize those benefits.” What challenges does AT&T face from regulators in the ongoing development of U-verse in Connecticut?

A: The big challenge isn’t so much from regulators who have embraced U-verse and the competition and all that has brought to consumers, as it is a larger challenge to our state’s leaders. We’re coming close to completing our initial deployment plans for U-verse; the bigger question is how will Connecticut make itself an attractive place for future investment? I see it as a challenge to improve our state’s competitiveness.

Q: In June 2006, AT&T Connecticut announced plans to invest more than $336 million to expand DSL availability and to build the network that will provide the company’s new suite of U-verse services. Has that investment been completed? If not, where does the work stand? How much has been invested?

A: This year we will hit some truly important milestones in that investment including completing our plans to invest $336 million in Connecticut. We also plan to reach half of the state’s homes with U-verse by year-end.

Q: Where is AT&T Connecticut headed beyond U-verse? What are other issues facing the company in the near future?

A: Communications has gone from wired to wireless; from narrowband to broadband; from dial-up to always on, no matter where you are. U-verse is just one example of that.

We’re expanding our 3G wireless broadband network and getting prepared for the trial of LTE, or 4G wireless broadband at the end of this year. And we see a huge growth in connecting more and more devices like the Amazon Kindle or Apple iPad onto our network.

The challenge for Connecticut is to ensure that it is properly positioned to be a place where AT&T and other companies want to invest and grow so that it will be part of this future. The history of this state as a center for manufacturing says something about its capacity and promise. At the same time, the state’s more recent economic history — Connecticut has had the lowest level of growth of any state in the nation since the recession of the early 1990s — says that we must start doing things differently. We’re not just competing for capital and investment against Kansas and Kentucky but against Berlin and Beijing and everywhere in between.

Q: Government affairs work is not normally a stepping stone to corporate leadership. What sets you apart that this happened? Is heading up AT&T Connecticut training for a more influential corporate position?

A: My wife and I are falling in love with Connecticut. It’s a lovely state and the people here have been wonderful to us. If Connecticut is my final assignment at AT&T, we would be delighted. But I see this less about me and more about the job at hand. Government has a lot to do with influencing economic growth. I hope to use my experience working in and around government on behalf of AT&T to help improve Connecticut’s business climate — and to help bring more jobs here.

Rodney Smith