AT&T unlikely to sell rural lines, CEO says

The Wall Street Journal reports that AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said at an investor conference this week that the company is not planning to sell any of its rural lines like Verizon Communications is doing through its recent deal with Frontier Communications. However, if rural telco consolidation continues, could Wall Street convince AT&T to change its mind?

Stephenson also said that general economic conditions don't seem to be getting worse or better, using typically cagey CEO-speak to express that things are apparently neither good nor bad, which is... good?

For more:
- The Wall Street Journal has this story

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Last December, Stephenson called on newly-elected Obama to encourage telecom growth