The new, old AT&T

Cingular may be in the process of becoming the new AT&T, but it's the old AT&T that they should be concerned about, at least for the immediate future. AT&T has done a wonderful job in the last few years repositioning itself as a broadband company, but for millions of former customers — especially those outside of the former SBC operating territory — AT&T isn't exactly a forward-looking company on the cutting edge of communications and technology, but rather a company that keeps folding.

Those with a more acute memory might remember AT&T as one of the country's largest cable companies, only to see it dry up and become Comcast. But probably the recollection foremost in many consumers' and business customers' minds is that of AT&T Wireless. In early 2004, the spun-off AT&T Wireless became the subject of a bidding war that was finally won by Cingular, but spawned brand-damaging problems in the process, culminating in a massive exodus of customers right before Cingular took over.

With Cingular in charge, things didn't improve much. Customers with expiring contracts were told to upgrade their phones or get off the network, driving more customers away. Cingular, of course, recovered. In fact, it exceeded all expectations despite the transition problems. But the AT&T Wireless name was left damaged to the point that AT&T Corp. stated it in an SEC filing it wouldn't launch its new wireless operations under the moniker.

We live in a post-modern age of short-term collective memory, but we can still remember two years back. The new AT&T will have to deal with that backlash. I personally know a few veterans of the ordeal who still spit when the name AT&T is mentioned. Though many of them have had to come to terms with their former nemesis by virtue of the fact that our home wireline market, Chicago, is controlled by a company of the same name, it's doubtful that they'll be signing up with a cellular company called AT&T.

It will be a rough transition, but it has to be done — and quickly. In fact, nothing could be more crucial than bringing Cingular into the AT&T fold. AT&T has bet its future on its three-screen strategy, making it a provider of content and access indiscriminately across the TV, PC and handset. Obviously, having all three of those screens displaying the same logo is of key importance. So yes, there will be some backlash against AT&T's latest effort to revive a wireless brand. But there are a lot of things AT&T is doing to rejuvenate AT&T as a cutting-edge name — the iPhone for one. Who knows? If AT&T pulls this off right, maybe AT&T can shed the last remnants of its former skins — the stodgy old granddaddy of telecom, the diminished superpower with a trail of discarded ventures in its wake — and reclaim the reputation for innovation it enjoyed so long ago.