Not a problem, but a chance: AT&T plans to knock it out of the park in areas where it lags behind

A new report by Light Reading has it that AT&T is focusing on two key opportunities as it begins integrating the fiber network it recently acquired from Lumen: increasing the number of broadband subscribers in those markets and selling bundled services that combine home internet and wireless plans. It's the logical step.

Ma Bell completed a deal worth about $5.75 billion to acquire most of Lumen's consumer fiber business. The acquisition added around 1 million fiber subscribers and expanded AT&T's network to more than 4 million fiber-ready locations across several US metro areas, including Denver, Las Vegas, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City and Seattle..

Even though the infrastructure already reaches millions of homes, AT&T sees a significant opportunity to grow the customer base. Only about 25% of the homes that can access fiber in these markets currently subscribe to the service. That level of "subscriber penetration" is noticeably lower than AT&T's existing markets, where roughly 40% of available homes sign up for fiber.

Because of this difference, AT&T plans to invest more heavily in marketing and sales efforts to attract additional customers. The company believes that its brand recognition, distribution channels and experience selling fiber internet will help boost adoption in those regions.

Combined services

Enter the "convergence" proposal. This is when customers buy multiple services from AT&T, typically combining fiber broadband at home with an AT&T phone plan. According to the company, households that subscribe to both services tend to remain customers longer and generate higher long-term value.

Again, the convergence rate in the newly acquired Lumen markets is relatively low. Fewer than 20% of fiber customers there also use AT&T's wireless service. That is about half the rate AT&T currently sees in its established fiber markets, where many broadband customers already use the company's mobile plans as well. In effect, AT&T will have to convince people to leave T-Mobile and Verizon. Not an easy task, but what is?