American wireless carrier AT&T today said it will record $10 billion in charges — $7.9 billion pretax loss related to pension and $2.1 billion non-cash charge due to copper wiring — in its fourth quarter of 2014.
This includes a $7.9 billion pretax loss related to accounting adjustments for gains and losses on pension and benefit plans.
AT&T is also recording a $2.1 billion non-cash charge as it abandons some copper used for landlines.
The copper, which was typically used for wiring, is not needed as consumer demand declines for its older voice and data services. The need for many copper landlines is disappearing as consumers opt for smartphones and Internet-based phone service that arrives over cable TV and fiber optic wiring, said AT&T.
Dallas-based AT&T wants to turn off its copper landline network by the end of the decade.
