AT&T Named the Nation’s Best Network for Streaming Video
By Vince Torres, Senior Vice President, AT&T Mobility & Entertainment
A nationwide study confirms what our customers already know - entertainment and video is who we are. Global Wireless Solutions, a leading independent 3rd party, today named us the nation’s best network for streaming video. The same nationwide first-of-its-kind test also found that AT&T has the most reliable video stream and the highest video quality.
Gone are the days when viewers built their schedules around only watching their favorite TV shows and movies on the big screen at set times. Today, consumers are watching video on the go and streaming the latest shows and movies on smartphones and tablets from virtually anywhere.
Video traffic now makes up over half of our mobile traffic. Mobile data traffic on AT&T’s national wireless network increased more than 250,000% from 2007 to 2017. We’re engineering and designing for another 10X growth in mobile data volume over our network by 2020. In fact, in 2016 alone, video traffic grew over 75% and smartphones drove almost 75% of our data traffic. We expect video traffic growth to outpace overall data growth in 2020.
Our network is built to handle this rapid growth. AT&T’s global leadership in software defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) gives us a head start. AT&T’s goal is to virtualize over 75% of our network by 2020, and this delivers a sizeable advantage in the deployment of next-generation technology over the traditional, hardware-intensive network approach.
Our network value is clear for consumers. If you have our network via our AT&T Unlimited PlusSM or AT&T Unlimited ChoiceSM plan, you get HBO for life AND a $15 monthly video credit, giving you access to your favorite shows and movies on DIRECTV NOWSM for as little as $20 a month.* (Price for Live a Little pkg after credit. Prices subject to change at any time.)
We were the first to offer unlimited wireless with premium video entertainment included along with HD options, and we’ll continue to add more features to create an even better entertainment experience.
*Redeem offer at directvnow.com by verifying your wireless number. Price is after $15/mo. credit with eligible AT&T Unlimited Choice or Plus plan. Pay $35/mo. until credit starts w/in 3 bills. Wireless streaming may be limited to SD & after 22GB/line/mo., you may experience slower speeds. Customers w/ two AT&T video svcs may not receive credit on DIRECTV NOW. Add’l usage, charges, exclusions, taxes & restr’s apply. See att.com/unlimited for details.
Vince Torres is Senior Vice President, AT&T Mobility & Entertainment
