Keeping track of the AT&Ts

What can I say? It's a slow news week. There's no better time to occupy oneself than with rampant speculation and rumor mongering. The unconfirmed tidbit of the day is that we may have a new AT&T Wireless on our hands just months after the old one disappeared.

The New York Times has it that AT&T plans to launch its new mobile virtual private network, fueled by Sprint and dubbed AT&T Mobile, in the coming week. To top it off, InPhonic made a rather strange announcement today saying it would provide its voice-enabled subscriber management capabilities to AT&T's new wireless enterprise customers. This is after AT&T hadn't made an official peep about its wireless plans in months.

Whether it's next week or next month, AT&T's re-entry into wireless will definitely make things interesting, and it's certain to create all kinds of confusion among former AT&T Wireless and now Cingular customers. Just think, AT&T Mobile's commercials running back-to-back with Cingular's "raising the bar" commercials, both using the same the globe logo engaged in all sorts of different antics. That's bound to leave some people scratching their heads.

AT&T, however, is envisioning more of a business play for its service, which is certain to help keep the brands separate and help in shining away the scuffing left by AT&T Wireless. In fact, if AT&T gears its MVNO as a pure business play integrated directly into its enterprise wireline offering, we could get the equivalent of a revolutionary new carrier--one focused entirely on business. With Nextel expected to disappear into the arms of Sprint midyear, there will be nothing resembling a business-focused carrier on the market. Maybe AT&T should just join the renaming fray and call itself Nextel.

Contact me at kfitchard@primediabusiness.com.