AT&T Re-Enters Wireless Market

AT&T said Tuesday that it will re-enter the wireless business, reselling Sprint PCS wireless service to its customer base and bundling it with other services such as Voice over IP.

AT&T started, then spun off, AT&T Wireless, which now is being acquired by Cingular Wireless. It has publicly indicated its intention to to re-enter the wireless arena, although not set up its own wireless infrastructure.

The company said in a statement Tuesday that it will re-sell Sprint wireless service under the AT&T brand name to its 30 million current customers. It said it has entered a five-year agreement with Sprint and expects a widespread launch its service by the end of the year. It already has been test marketing the service in a few areas.

AT&T said it is developing bundled packages that it claims will be highly attractive for its consumer and enterprise users.

"AT&T has proved it is capable of rolling out bundles of new and complex services quickly and cost-effectively," AT&T CEO David W. Dorman said in a statement.Specifically, the company said it would add wireless services to its OneRate local and long-distance bundles and its CallVantage voice-over-IP (VoIP) service. The company said that, in the next 18 months, it also will provide handsets that can connect either to Wi-Fi VoIP systems and the cellular network.

AT&T will create its own content and applications for its customers and provide its own support.

The company said in its statement that its deal with Sprint PCS is non-exclusive and will lead to the two companies competing with each other "without restrictions." Besides selling the wireless service under its own name, AT&T also will brand handsets and establish its own relationships with handset vendors, it said.

The companies released no financial details about the deal.