AT&T hires 2,000 extra workers for iPhone launch
293877
AT&T says it has hired 2,000 temporary workers for its stores to handle the expected demand for Apple's iPhone.
643957
The iPhone won't be just for customers living in the big cities. On the day it is introducing the hugely hyped cell phone, AT&T Inc. announced it will acquire wireless provider Dobson Communications Corp. for US$2.8 billion in cash.
171524
Blog: AT&T has released pricing information for the new iPhone, with plans starting at $60 per month.
155796
For the first time, AT&T pitches Apple's popular phone directly to businesses.
621167
Will hire about 2,000 of its own employees to handle tech support work that had been done by outside contractors.
699648
(InfoWorld) - AT&T will add about 2,000 previously outsourced technical support jobs to its own payroll, the company announced Thursday. The jobs are related to supporting AT&T DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) customers who self-install their service or have other basic questions, AT&T said. The jobs, to be added to AT&T's payroll by the end of 2008, have been provided by outsourcing vendors in the U.S. and overseas. An AT&T spokesman did not have a breakdown of where the outsourcing jobs were located. The decision is an "example of how we're working together with our union to add jobs in growing parts of our company," Bill Blase, AT&T's executive vice president for labor relations, said in a statement. AT&T is assessing where to locate the jobs, the company said. The DSL jobs are the second group of jobs that the company and the Communications Workers of America union have agreed to create in recent months. Over the last three months, AT&T and the union agreed on contracts for technicians who will install AT&T's new U-verse video service in homes.
20591
Blog: Anticipating long lines and eager crowds, AT&#38;T is dialing up 2,000 extra workers for additional security at its stores.
269575
(InfoWorld) - Apple'sÂ iPhone launchÂ has been marred by delays in AT&T's phone activation system, leaving some people unable to use their new toy throughout the weekend. People who buy the iPhone, which went on sale in the U.S. Friday evening, are required to activate it through Apple's iTunes software on their home computer. They choose a rate plan, authorize their credit card number, and the phone should be activated soon after. Apple has said the process should take only a few minutes for people being assigned a new phone number, and "up to six hours" for people transferring a number from another operator. But for some the wait has been much longer, according to postings on Apple's iPhone message board and elsewhere. "It has now been 48 hours and my iPhone is still the prettiest paperweight I own," wrote one frustrated user. "Nightmare indeed," said another. "I've been waiting 11+ hours now. I got the phone after a somewhat reasonable one-hour wait at the Albany, NY store, then spent 4+ hours talking to AT&T and Apple trying to get the thing activated." Others said their phone was activated in a matter of minutes. AT&T was not available to comment in Europe on Monday morning, and Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An AT&T spokesman told the Wall Street Journal newspaper that most activations were occurring in a few minutes, and that the operator was working to fix the remaining issues. An unnamed source told the paper that about 2 percent of users were being affected. The delays cast a shadow over what appears -- so far -- to have been an otherwise successful launch of the iPhone. The device sells for $500 or $600 depending on the amount of memory on board, plus an activation fee and the cost of the service plan from AT&T, which for now has exclusive distribution rights for the iPhone in the U.S. When people buy a new cell phone the device is usually activated in the shop where they buy it. Apple and AT&T had billed the self-activation process as "another example of how AT&T and Apple have partnered to bring innovative new features to our customers." Opinions were divided as to where to lay blame. An iPhone buyer who claimed to work for AT&T said in a message posting that delays were inevitable and not the fault of either company. Thousands were trying to activate their new phone simultaneously over the weekend, the person noted, and the activation requests were lining up at AT&T's network switches "like 30,000 or so people throwing basketballs at one hoop and hoping to make it in." Others said AT&T should have lined up additional capacity for the activations. Some said they expected the problems to be ironed out by next week and the incident to be forgotten. "Activation is going to happen eventually. Why did you invest so much of your time and energy in this?" one person wrote on Apple's board. "Life is too short to worry about this type of thing." There were some other gripes about the iPhone, although it was hard to tell how widespread issues are. Several users complained that the phone's iPod function stopped playing music when they used it as the same time as the Safari Web browser or Google Maps. Others complained of a bug that caused the e-mails they sent via GMail to appear in their inbox. Other users, including a person who responded to a posting on the iPhoneFAQ.org Web, said they were unable to transfer an AT&T business account to their iPhone, and were told they would have to start a new, individual account.
453337
AT&T a $2.2 billion increase in revenue, largely due to its 2006 acquisition of BellSouth.
487060
THE owner of Currys electrical stores is pledging to create 2,000 jobs with the launch of a new service providing expert support to IT users.
89130
News stories, videos, and blogs produced in the first 24 hours of the iPhone launch
763503
AT&T Inc.  sold almost all  its initial stock of Apple Inc.'s  iPhone within hours  of the device going on sale, an AT&T spokesman said on  Saturday.
751443
AT&T Mobility LLC has received more than 1 million inquiries for Apple Inc.'s multimedia and Web-enabled iPhone cell phone, the San Antonio company said.
340501
AT&T is taking extra steps to prepare for an expected onslaught of business due to the iPhone, including the hiring of about 2,000 temporary employees and enhancing security.
681372
Older gadget geeks fueled an Apple  iPhone launch frenzy on Friday by taking a prominent place on  growing lines across the United States -- or paying  20-somethings to do it for them.
685323
AT&amp;T Inc. has spent $50 million to beef up its relatively slow wireless network in anticipation of the heightened activity expected to follow the iPhone's debut next week, but any customer who isn't wowed by the new gadget will find it costly to cancel the service.
203239
By Leslie Cauley  For consumers eager to get their hands on an Apple iPhone, here's the good news: It will be available in all 1,800 AT&T phone stores at 6 p.m. sharp on June 29.