AT&T, industry capex outlooks appear rosy

During AT&T's first-quarter earnings call yesterday, company officials noted that capital spending for 2009 remained on course to be between $17 billion and $18 billion for the full year. The company actually spent a little more than $3 billion of its capex budget during the first quarter, and if the full-year forecast still applies, than the implication-we think-is that AT&T likely will be spending more per quarter in the remaining quarters this year to reach that forecast figure.

AT&T's earnings report could be the latest indicator for overall 2009 carrier capex to be somewhat higher than previously expected. UBS, which tracks capex closely and last year predicted a carrier capex fall of at least 10 percent in 2009, said this week in a research note that things are looking up a bit, at least early on in the year. Telephony has a report quoting UBS and Morgan Keegan analysis, as well as vendor earnings results, in reviewing the ongoing capex outlook for this year.

For more:
- Telephony has this analysis

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UBS envisioned sharp carrier capex cuts for 2009
AT&T reported first quarter earnings yesterday