AT&T to Offer Bill Credits for Outages to Enhance Customer Satisfaction

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AT&T announced a new initiative on Wednesday to offer bill credits for network outages as part of its efforts to improve customer satisfaction and restore trust in the company. This comes after the telecom industry experienced significant disruptions in 2024, including a nationwide wireless service outage in February, which lasted over 12 hours and affected millions of calls, including blocking 911 emergency services.

In response to the February outage, AT&T provided affected customers with a full day of service credit. The latest initiative, called the “AT&T Guarantee,” will automatically offer bill credits to customers who experience network interruptions. Fiber users who face outages of 20 minutes or more, and wireless customers who encounter disruptions lasting 60 minutes or longer, will receive a credit equivalent to one full day of service.

This move is part of AT&T’s ongoing efforts to rebuild customer trust after a period of losing market share. Jenifer Robertson, executive vice president of AT&T Mass Markets & Mobility, emphasized that the company had been focused on regaining trust through improvements in pricing, products, and promotional offers.

The “AT&T Guarantee” initiative, which will launch Thursday, reflects the company’s commitment to offering reliable connectivity. AT&T has topped customer satisfaction rankings for business wireless service among large enterprises for three consecutive years, according to J.D. Power.

AT&T has invested more than $140 billion in its network and nearly a billion dollars in customer care and operations since 2019, aiming to further improve its service and customer experience.

 

Samsung’s Q4 Profit Misses Expectations as Chip Issues and Rising Costs Weigh on Earnings

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Samsung Electronics has reported a significant shortfall in its preliminary fourth-quarter operating profit, primarily due to challenges in its semiconductor business. The South Korean tech giant estimates an operating profit of 6.5 trillion won ($4.5 billion) for the three months ending Dec. 31, well below analyst expectations of 7.7 trillion won. Although the expected profit represents a 131% year-on-year increase, it marks a 29% decline compared to the previous quarter.

The company’s earnings were affected by rising research and development (R&D) costs and the ramp-up of manufacturing capacity for advanced semiconductors. Additionally, weak demand for conventional memory chips used in PCs and mobile phones further contributed to the dip in profits.

Samsung’s efforts to provide high-end chips to Nvidia have also posed challenges. Unlike its rival SK Hynix, which is Nvidia’s main supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI GPUs, Samsung has struggled to meet the tech giant’s chip requirements. Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, mentioned that Samsung needs to “engineer a new design” to supply HBM chips, although he expressed confidence in Samsung’s ability to meet this challenge.

The disappointing earnings also extended to Samsung’s logic chip division, which designs and manufactures chips for mobile phones. Analysts estimate losses could have widened to about $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter due to lower production yields and reduced demand for mobile devices, including Samsung’s premium foldable phones.

Despite the weak earnings, Samsung’s shares saw a slight uptick, with analysts noting that the company’s woes were already factored into stock prices. Competition in the chip and mobile sectors remains intense, and analysts are cautiously optimistic that chip demand may have bottomed out.

 

Novo Nordisk Expands AI Partnership with Valo Health for Obesity Drug Development

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Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical giant, has announced an expansion of its partnership with U.S.-based tech firm Valo Health to develop new treatments for cardiometabolic diseases, including obesity, using human data and artificial intelligence (AI).

The expanded collaboration follows a recent setback for Novo, as its weight-loss drug candidate CagriSema underperformed in trials, falling short of expectations. This comes as Novo seeks to develop a more potent weight-loss treatment to rival Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, a competitor in the obesity drug market. Both companies are also exploring the broader health benefits of their obesity treatments, as they look to expand their utility beyond weight loss. Analysts predict the obesity drug market could be worth $150 billion within the next decade.

Originally announced in September 2023, the partnership between Novo and Valo aimed to develop up to 11 drugs. With the new agreement, the scope has broadened, with plans to discover and develop up to 20 new treatments for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

Under the terms of the expanded deal, Valo Health stands to receive up to $190 million in near-term payments, along with potential milestone payments totaling about $4.6 billion. The original agreement entitled Valo to up to $2.7 billion in milestone payments.