Comparison of Benefit Packages of AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint

AT&T, Sprint Corporation, and Verizon Communications are major

players in the telecommunication field. This paper compares the history,

demographics and employee benefits offered by each company. A brief

history of each of the highlighted companies shows the different tracks they

have taken to become three of the largest telecommunication companies.

AT&Ts history can be traced to the beginnings of the telephone. AT&T

became the parent company of the Bell System. The Bell System broke up

into eight companies in 1984 by agreement between AT&T and the U.S.

Department of Justice. AT&T is a global network leader that delivers IP-based

solutions to business and government customers, and is headquartered in

Dallas, Texas. In 2015, AT&T generated 146.8 billion U.S. dollars in revenue

and employed approximately 280 thousand people. (Topic: AT&T.).

Sprint Corporation is a United States telecommunication company,

currently headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, employing

approximately 30,000 people. It operates nationwide, generating more than

32 billion U.S. dollars in annual revenue. Sprints history goes back to the

founding of the Brown Telephone Company in 1899, its name stems from the

merger of South Pacific Communications and General Telephone & Electric

Corporation in 1982. First becoming GTE Sprint then Sprint Corporation,

under the control of United Telecommunications. Sprint Corporation and

Nextel Communications merged to form Sprint Nextel Corporation. (Sprint

Corporation). Sprint was acquired by SoftBank Corporation, which led to the

closing of the Nextel operations and a return to the Sprint Corporation name.

As of 2015, the company had a customer base of 58.8 million subscribers

across its postpaid, prepaid, and wholesale and affiliate platforms. (Topic:

Sprint Corporation.).

Verizon Communications Inc., based in New York City, was formed on

June 30, 2000, with the merger of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp. The

merger joined Bell Atlantics network that served its highly- populated data

intensive customer base from Maine to Virginia with GTEs national advanced

data communications capabilities and long-distance expertise. Verizon

Communications is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the

United States and generates more than 130 billion dollars in annual revenue.

The company has a customer base of 112.1 million subscribers and

employees approximately 177,700. (Topic: Verizon Communications.).

Employee turnover rates can be critical and is an area that produces

challenges for the telecommunication industry. Employee retention is

advantageous as it shows the training and commitment to employees are

high. AT&T has the lowest employee turnovers of the three highlighted, their

employee benefits reward package is attractive and this helps keep turnover
of employees low. Sprint has a high turnover rate for first time employees

and hinders employee growth. Their training program should be reviewed.

Verizons employee training program is extensive and together with their

benefit program aid in their reduction of labor turnover. (About the

Telecommunications subsector.)

Per Investopedia, a cost-benefit analysis is a process by which

business decisions are analyzed. The benefits of a given situation or

business-related action are summed, and then the costs associated with

taking that action are subtracted. Some consultants also build the model

to put a dollar value on intangible items, and most analysts will also

factor opportunity cost into such equations. (Staff, I.).

Sprint incomes are principally through mobile phone subscription

plans for consumers and businesses. Sprint also offers voice and data

communication services over legacy fixed-lines. Sprint is very highly

leveraged, with a net debt of over $31 billion (excluding capitalized

operating leases) per Investopedia. Sprint is finding ways to cut costs and

adapt its benefits with deal and leaseback plans. (Speculations, G.).

Sprint intends to make improvement to upgrade its sites to support

800 MHz, 1900 MHz and 2.5 GHz for LTE, in a move that should help to

improve capacity as well as coverage. Sprints turnaround plan is to bolster

its subscriber base, driven by its aggressive promotional offers which

include offering new customers half-off their bills from their existing carriers

and leasing the latest iPhone for as little as $1 a month. (Speculations, G.).

Verizon has the largest subscriber base in the U.S., estimated they will

have around 32% share in the U.S. mobile market which will grow to around

380 million estimated connections by 2021. Verizons interest in over-the-

top services such as mobile video and advertising has been growing, as

people spend more time on their mobile devices. Per Great Speculations

U.S. Mobile ad spending was projected to grow by about 38% in 2015 to $42

billion, according to estimates from eMarketer, accounting for close to 21.6%

of total media ad spending and 62.6% of digital ad spending. A solid match

for Verizon with its base of more than 112 million supporters. In 2015,

Verizon bought AOL, gaining access to a program and video advertising

platform as well a large library of original content. Verizon has also

announced a deal to acquire Yahoo's operating business in 2016, thus

enabling Verizon to grow its presence in the search engine and advertising

market. (Speculations, G.).

Verizon has maintained the lead in the 4G networks and has been

consistently ranked the best U.S. operator in terms of network coverage and

quality. In 2015, the carrier announced its commitment to developing and

deploying fifth-generation (5G) wireless technology with plans at some

degree of commercial deployment by 2017, thus the worlds first carrier to

take a serious step into the next generation wireless technology.

(Speculations, G.).

AT&T revenues are mainly from their mobile phone subscription plans

with consumers and businesses, they also provide landline phone service to

residences, small businesses, and large enterprises. Broadband Internet

service represents a growth area for AT&T. AT&T acquired satellite TV

provider DirecTV in 2015, making it the largest pay-tv company in the United

States, gaining the lucrative rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket. With over a

33% market share of the U.S. wireless market, AT&T served over 128 million

wireless subscribers. (Speculations, G.).

As the U.S. wireless market is becoming saturated, carriers are likely to

focus on retaining customers and winning over customers that jump from

one company to another. AT&T's spectrum-driven acquisitions to provide

higher speeds and congestion free networks for smartphone users has puts

them in a good position for network enhancement. AT&T could also be a

major player in the FCC's 2016 incentive auction which will transfer valuable

600 MHz spectrum from TV broadcasters to wireless carriers (Speculations,

G.).

AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint all offer competitive benefits which include

retirement plans, health insurance, dental and vision coverage, life

insurance, disability coverage, vacation and extras including daycare, work-

life balance, and others. Good benefit packages increase job satisfaction and

can help you make and save more money over the long run. Benefits may

include retirement plans, health insurance, dental and vision coverage, life

insurance, disability insurance, and others including work life balance.

Human Resource Departments tasked with producing benefit packages need

to keep in mind the better the benefits, the better the chance of keeping and

attracting highly qualified employees. (Phipps, M.).

According to the Health Benefits Overview Package, as an AT&T

employee, your medical coverage begins on day one of employment. AT&T

offers several health plan options in the AT&T Medical Program or a fully-

Insured Managed Care option, including HMOs (where available) with

medical/surgical, prescription drug and mental health/substance abuse

benefits. Along with dental and vision coverage, short and long term

disability is also offered which may be company paid, with the option of

enrolling for supplemental long-term disability benefits. AT&T also has an

Employee Assistance Program that provides confidential assessments,

referrals, and short-term intervention to help with personal issues. Additional

benefits include educational materials, personalized referrals, and an

interactive website for issues including adult care and aging, child care and

parenting, financial and legal concerns, health and wellness, higher

education, home improvement, pet care, and relocation. (Rewards - Careers -

AT&T.).
 AT&T offers a 401(k) plan for eligible employees to save for retirement

through payroll deductions with a very generous company match. Flexible

spending accounts that allow one to pay for eligible health care and

dependent care expenses with funds not subject to payroll taxes are offered.

AT&T offers employer-paid basic life and accidental death and

dismemberment insurance in the amount equal to your annual rate of pay

and a $10,000 seat-belt incentive insurance and employees may elect to

purchase additional coverage for themselves and dependents. AT&T also

has Adoption Benefits and Tuition Assistance. Other voluntary benefits are

also available that include: accident insurance, auto and home-owners

insurance, cancer insurance, financial-planning services, group legal

services, and veterinary pet insurance. (Rewards - Careers - AT&T.).

Verizon benefits per their website are designed to support you in

remarkably helpful ways in your career and in areas of your life outside of

Verizon. Verizon benefits include comprehensive medical plans and a

competitive 401(k) plan, tuition assistance, wireless and Fios discounts

with competitive salaries and performance-based incentives, adoption

expense assistance, a matching gifts program, military discounts, and an

employee relief fund for victims of natural disasters. They also have in

house gyms or discounted gym memberships. (Benefits.).

Verizon also offers healthcare and dependent care spending accounts,

an employee assistance program, a healthy pregnancy program for

expectant mothers, a generous vacation policy, personal days, and Holidays.

Lifelong learning with training and development at all levels to help build

skillsets are offered along with tuition assistance, award-winning on-the-job

training, and online development tools. (Benefits.).

Sprints Total Rewards program includes wireless phone service, health

care coverage, retirement savings and financial education support,

professional and career development, and many other options to address the

needs of employees and their dependents. Sprint benefits are available to

employees and their spouses, their children, and domestic partners. Sprint

has multiple options for medical/prescription drug coverage, a Health

Savings Account, two dental plans and vision coverage. Sprint offers

discounted benefit premiums to employees living in tobacco-free homes

upon completion of a confidential Health Assessment. Sprint offers a range

of insurance services including life, accidental death and dismemberment

insurance, long-term care, and critical illness insurance, auto and home

insurance, short-term and long-term disability protection, pet insurance,

accident insurance and pre-paid legal services. (Sprint Employee Benefits

and Perks.).

Sprint offers a 401(k) plan and employee stock purchase plan, flexible

spending accounts for health care and dependent day care expenses are also

offered and eligible employees can qualify for undergraduate and graduate

educational course expenses. Benefits are available for all full-time

employees and most part-time employees. Free mobile phone service and
discounts on their mobile broadband and tablet services are available.

Discounted services are also available to employees' friends and family

members. (Sprint Employee Benefits and Perks.).

In conclusion, based on the analysis of these companies in their

different capacities, they each have their merits. Comparing the three, AT&T

comes out as having the most attractive comprehensive benefit package as

it strives to be competitive and continues to grow, they have a diverse

workforce and good training practices. Their excellent savings and planning

options are very attractive to any new employee and their families.

References

About the Telecommunications subsector. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2017,

from https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag517.htm

Benefits. (2016, September 16). Retrieved April 09, 2017, from

http://www.verizon.com/about/careers/benefits

Phipps, M. (n.d.). Tips for Comparing Job Benefit Plans. Retrieved April 09,
2017, from https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-compare-employer-
benefits-packages-2063406
Rewards - Careers - AT&T. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2017, from
http://att.jobs/doing-great-things/life-at-att/rewards

Speculations, G. (2016, January 11). U.S. Wireless Weekly Notes: AT&T, Sprint
& Verizon. Retrieved April 21, 2017, from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2016/01/11/u-s-
wireless-weekly-notes-att-sprint-verizon/#65d7080314ac

Sprint Employee Benefits and Perks. (n.d.). Retrieved April 09, 2017, from
https://www.glassdoor.com/Benefits/Sprint-US-Benefits-
EI_IE13345.0,6_IL.7,9_IN1.htm

Sprint Corporation. (2017, April 28). Retrieved April 19, 2017, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprint_Corporation

Staff, I. (2015, May 22). Cost-Benefit Analysis. Retrieved April 21, 2017, from
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cost-benefitanalysis.asp

Topic: AT&T. Retrieved April 19, 2017, from

https://www.statista.com/topics/1252/atundt/

Topic: Sprint Corporation. Retrieved April 19, 2017, from

https://www.statista.com/topics/1821/sprint-corporation/

Topic: Verizon Communications. Retrieved April 19, 2017, from

https://www.statista.com/topics/2599/verizon-communications/