AT&T Aims To Be 'First Rate'

AT&T touted all of that and more at its annual analysts meeting in New York on Tuesday.

What analysts liked the most, in the near term, was AT&T's announcement that it plans to buy back $2 billion of its shares in 2006. Shares in the new AT&T, created by SBC Communications' purchase of Ma Bell in November, have climbed 6% this year.

The AT&T purchase is expected to contribute to earnings in 2007, a year ahead of previous company forecasts. "Synergies from the AT&T merger will be larger, and they will come sooner, than in the outlook we provided a year ago," Whitacre said.

AT&T says it will soon begin selling Cingular's wireless phone services to large companies under the AT&T brand. That marketing tactic may not please BellSouth if AT&T targets companies within its BellSouth's nine-state home region, some analysts say.

On Tuesday, Cingular CEO Stanley Sigman disagreed.

"There has been a lot of speculation," Sigman said. "It's a strong relationship, it's a strong partnership. What's good for Cingular is good for both (AT&T and BellSouth)."