AT&T Gets Top Honors from HACR

Posted by: AT&T Blog Team on January 11, 2012 at 11:34 pm

By  Norelie Garcia, AT&T Associate Vice President – Federal Public Affairs:

There are many reasons why I’m proud to work for AT&T, but chief among them is our company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.  From the board room to the front lines, from the stores to our supply chain, diversity and inclusion are central to our culture and a core part of our business strategy.

Today, we are honored by The Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR) 2011 Corporate Inclusion Index report’s high rating for our Hispanic inclusion practices in the areas of workforce, procurement, philanthropy and governance.  AT&T was one of only two companies – and the only telecommunications company nationwide – to receive a 95 rating, the highest in this year’s index.

We’re committed to full representation of a diverse workforce.  Right now, our workforce is about 12 percent Hispanic, and our total U.S. workforce is 40 percent female and 38 percent people of color.  I’m an active member of our award-winning and company sponsored Hispanic employee resource group HACEMOS, an important partner in our workforce diversity, community engagement and volunteering efforts.

Diversity is a key part of all aspects of our business strategy, and we reap the benefits of this every day in new customers, and strong relationships with excellent suppliers and partners.   We commend Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility Chair Janet Murguía, President & CEO Carlos Orta and Executive Committee Members for their tireless work to advance the inclusion of Hispanics in Corporate America at a level commensurate with our economic contributions.

Recognitions like this are a chance to take stock and reflect not only on how far we have progressed but also on the importance of continuing this great work!

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TOPICS: Other Thoughts
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AT&T Supports our Nation’s Veterans… We Salute You

Posted by: AT&T Blog Team on November 11, 2011 at 1:24 pm

For the hundreds of thousands of our brave men and women deployed around the world, this will be another day of service to their country.

For more than 20-million veterans including two million from World War II, their military career is a memory.

But for all Americans this is the day that our nation pays tribute to their sacrifices and shows the gratitude, respect, and support that ought to be an on-going reality.

Veterans have answered their country’s call, and at AT&T we take our responsibility to answer their calls for support, assistance, and opportunities very seriously.

Since communications is our business, we’ve been able — and willing — to help keep military families connected during the holidays.  Last year we provided more than a million dollars in phone cards.  We’ve been doing this since the first Gulf War and have been privileged to put more than eight-million dollars in prepaid phone cards into the hands of our military personnel.

Our commitment to veterans doesn’t end with their separation from the service.  And because returning home can be as challenging as being deployed, we’ve developed a program that helps veterans translate their military proficiencies into the corresponding skills needed by AT&T. We also work to connect veterans with one of the more than 3,000 AT&T veterans who are willing to provide “in person” insight and assistance about careers in our company.

We know that the cost of service to our country can be great.  Almost three-and-a-half million veterans have a service-connected disability.  We’re working with California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises in a program called Operation Hand Salute to provide mentoring, workshops, classes, and webinars that enable veterans with disabilities to shine as they develop their civilian careers.

We’ve also worked with Alorica ( a contract management and call center company) to begin a revolutionary customer care program staffed entirely by veterans with disabilities.  This team uses telecommuting to get the job done, as they support AT&T business customers.

We’re fortunate to be able to support active military personnel, their families, and veterans with a host of programs, hiring practices, policies (like support for reservists called to active duty), charitable contributions, and event sponsorships.

And, because we know that even though a person may leave active duty they remain a veteran forever, we will continue innovating in ways that are of service to our veterans, not just on their special day — but every day.  We’ve been at this for more than 85 years, and we’ll keep at it for as long as there are veterans.

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TOPICS: Other Thoughts
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Who Knows Broadband Speeds?
Sam Knows.

Posted by: Bob Quinn on August 2, 2011 at 11:44 am

So, the FCC/Sam Knows “Measuring Broadband America” speed test is finally finished and guess what?  The Sam Knows results, which measured the actual speeds provided by ISPs to their subscribers, demonstrates that American consumers are getting the broadband speeds they’re paying for.  For example, most major broadband providers deliver actual speeds that are “generally 80% to 90% of advertised maximum speeds or better.”  And even during peak usage periods (7pm to 11pm on weeknights), ISPs were still able to deliver actual speed that are “80% of advertised maximum speeds or better.”  These results, based on data from monitoring equipment installed in consumer homes and in ISP networks, debunk the conventional mythology that ISPs are delivering far less than the speeds they advertise.  Unfortunately, that mythology grew out of an unscientific and unreliable report that was picked up and repeated by some credible sources in the past, even making its way into the National Broadband Plan.  Of course, real facts will not be enough to satisfy everyone.  Some of the so-called public interest groups actually began bashing the report a couple of weeks ago (apparently you don’t have to actually see a report before you begin attacking its findings).  Like other conspiracy theorists, those consumer groups are wedded to the mythology and won’t let things like pesky facts get in their way.  

But you have to hand it to the FCC.  True to the Chairman’s word, he was not satisfied with guesswork and instead insisted on conducting a fact-based inquiry into what was really happening in the marketplace.  The results are in, and it’s clear that consumers are getting high-quality broadband services from their ISPs.  Perhaps now we can get past the rhetoric about advertised vs. actual speeds and focus on the important task of ensuring all Americans have access to these broadband services.  Reforming the universal service program to provide support for broadband, making more spectrum available for mobile broadband services, and, of course, approving the AT&T / T-Mobile merger, which will enable the combined company to deploy LTE to 97% of the U.S. population, would all be big steps the FCC could take toward the goal of making broadband ubiquitous in America.  SamKnows has shown us what broadband can do where it’s available; the challenge now is to make sure everyone has an opportunity to use it.

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TOPICS: Broadband, Broadband Policy, Consumers, FCC, Other Thoughts, Spectrum, T-Mobile Merger, Universal Service
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