AT&T names Kay Kapoor to strengthen $15 bn Public Sector biz

AT&T data plansTelecom operator AT&T has named Kay Kapoor as the president of the newly set up Global Public Sector organization to enhance its revenue streams.

AT&T said its Public Sector – mainly government and education — sales totaled nearly $15 billion in 2016. The organization provides information and communications technologies to government and education customers across federal, state, local and international public sector markets.

AT&T’s Business Solutions revenue fell 1 percent year-to-year in Q4 2016 as revenue declines in legacy services outpaced growth in strategic data business wireless service revenue.

Analyst firm TBR earlier said AT&T is retiring low-demand legacy assets to increase its focus on next-generation technologies that will improve Business Solutions revenue and foster innovation across the global telecom market.

AT&T, which is competing with Verizon, Vodafone, Orange, etc. is bringing agility and intelligence to its enterprise customers, bringing its NFV/SDN, Internet of Things (IoT) and analytics offerings to help its customers transform into digitally optimized businesses.

“Our public sector and education customers are a top priority. By bringing all public sector teams together, we can improve the value and partnership we offer to these customers,” said Kay Kapoor on Monday.

Kapoor led AT&T’s public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), which was announced March 30. The Department of Commerce and FirstNet selected AT&T to build and manage the first broadband network dedicated to America’s police, firefighters, EMS and other first responders.

AT&T said its revenue dropped 0.7 percent to $41.8 billion in Q4 2016. Though AT&T’s wireless revenue declined 0.7 percent year-to-year, due mainly to lower ARPU and postpaid phone subscriber losses, wireless revenue is beginning to stabilize due to strong connected device and prepaid net additions.