AT&T (T) ended 2024 on a high note, despite issuing several price increases last year.
In AT&T’s fourth-quarter earnings report for 2024, it revealed that it generated a net income of $4.4 billion during the quarter, which is 69% higher than what it earned during the same quarter in 2023.
AT&T flagged in the report that it faced strong revenue growth from its phone and broadband services, and equipment. The company also managed to attract 482,000 new postpaid phone customers and 307,000 new AT&T Fiber customers during the quarter.
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“We ended 2024 with strong momentum,” said AT&T CEO John Stankey in the report.
AT&T’s growth comes after it increased the monthly charge for most of its retired unlimited wireless plans by $10 for customers who have only one line on their plan, and $20 for customers with multiple lines, in August last year.
In November, AT&T also hiked the monthly price for each of its fiber and internet plans by $5.
AT&T tweaks a beloved discount, frustrating customers
As AT&T faces increased profits, it has decided to quietly make a major change to one of its most popular discounts.
In a new update on its website, the phone carrier is warning customers that its monthly discount for autopay and paperless billing will be reduced, starting on April 24.
Shoppers shop at AT&T in the King of Prussia Mall on December 11, 2022 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
AT&T states that wireless customers who pay with a debit card will see their discount decrease from $10 to $5 for each phone line.
For internet customers who pay with a debit card, their monthly discount will also shrink from $10 to $5.
However, wireless and internet customers who pay their monthly bill with a credit card will see their autopay and paperless billing discount completely removed. Wireless customers who use the AT&T Points Plus credit card from Citi, however, will be able to keep the discount.
Some AT&T customers took to Reddit to express their frustration with the upcoming change.
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A few even claimed that they feel uneasy about giving AT&T their bank account information.
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The move from AT&T comes after it reduced the autopay and paperless bill discount for wireless customers who pay their bill with a credit card in July last year. The discount at the time decreased to $5 for customers who had one or more phone lines, and it went down to $10 for those with two or more lines.
AT&T hopes to win back customers after recent controversy
AT&T’s decision to once again reduce the discount also comes during a time when it has been on a mission to win back trust from customers after it suffered a major outage last year. The outage happened on Feb. 22, 2024, and it lasted for more than 12 hours, impacting millions of customers nationwide.
Earlier this year, the company announced its new AT&T Guarantee strategy that promises customers reliable connectivity, more deals and friendlier service.
Through the new initiative, AT&T vows to give customers a bill credit that equals a full day of service if their fiber internet service is down for 20 minutes or more or if their wireless service is out for 60 minutes or more.
The company also said that it will speed up tech support wait times, aiming to connect customers to “a friendly tech expert” within five minutes.
“If we fall short of this – we’re going to take action to make it right,” said AT&T in a Jan. 8 press release. “No other carrier has offered a guarantee as comprehensive as this, spanning our network, our care and our deals. We’re the first and only carrier that offers a guarantee for wireless and fiber networks.”
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