Unit 4 A1: Illegal Restraints of Trade - Essay Example

Introduction ATT is a holding company whose subsidiaries and affiliates operates in the communications service industry in the United States and globally. They provide wireless connection services, local trade services, video services, long-distance services, telecommunications equipment, broadband and Cyberspace services, and managed networking.Segment InformationTheir segments are planned business units, which offer various products and services over a range of technology platforms that are administered accordingly.

They analyze their various operating sections based upon segment income ahead of income taxes. They make their capital allocation decisions basing on their strategic trend of the business, requirements of the network giving services and other assets required to provide rising services to their customers. Actuarial profits and losses from annuity and other post-retirement benefits, interests, expenses and other incomes, are managed only on an entire company basis and are, consequently, reflected just in consolidated results.

The clients and long-lived resources of their reportable sections are mostly in the United States. We have four reportable segments: Wireless, Wireline, Advertising Solutions and Other (Stephens 19-22).Pension and Postretirement BenefitsConsiderably all of their employees are provided for by one of the several non-contributory pension and death benefit plans. They also provide particular dental, medical and life insurance reimbursements to certain retired workers under different plans and accumulate actuarially determined by post-retirement benefit costs, since active employees are paid these benefits.

Their objective in financing these plans, in amalgamation with the principles of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, is to accumulate assets enough to meet the obligations of the plan and to provide benefits to workers on their retirement (Stephens 32). Investment Securities Their investment securities mainly consist of available-for-sale tools, which include fixed income bonds, equities, and other securities. Significantly, all the fair values of their available-for-sale collaterals were approximated based on quoted market values.

Investments in securities not dealt on a national securities exchange are priced using pricing models, cited prices of securities with the same characteristics or economical cash flows. Their short-term investments, long-term held-to-maturity reserves and client deposits are documented at amortized cost, and the particular carrying amounts estimated fair values (Stephens 33).Wireless Subscriber Relationships As the wireless business continues to grow, they believe that future wireless development will increasingly rely on their ability to offer pioneering services and devices, and a wireless network that has adequate spectrum and ability to support these innovations and avail them to more subscribers.

To draw and retain subscribers, they offer a broad phone line and a wide selection of service plans (Stephens 37).Their handset offerings include at least sixteen Smartphone types from nine companies. As technology advances, rapid changes are taking place in the handset and device production with the constant introduction of new-fangled models like Apple, Android, Windows and others, or considerable revisions of active models. They believe a broad contribution of a wide assortment of smartphones does reduce dependence on any particular operating system or company seeing that these products keep on evolving in terms of subscriber appeal and technology.

Occasionally, have offered and still offer attractive handsets on an all-exclusive basis. As these exclusive arrangements expire, they expect to keep on offering such handsets, and they believe their service plan offerings will assist in retaining their subscribers through providing incentives. They do not wait for exclusivity terminations in order to have a material impact on their consolidated operating margin, Wireless segment returns, or their cash flows from businesses (Stephens 39-40). Works CitedStephens, John.

Communications Services. SEC FILING. Texas: EDGAR Online, 2012.