AT&T is the latest company to face delays in product rollouts as a result of a global ship shortage.
AT&T is currently rolling out fiber internet to homes across the US. The company had planned on adding 3 million homes in 2021, but the semiconductor shortage will force the company to scale that back to 2.5 million.
“Up through the second quarter, we hadn’t really experienced any impact from the supply-chain disruptions that are happening across the industry. But since the start of the third quarter, we are seeing dislocation across the board including in fiber supply,” said AT&T Senior Executive VP and CFO Pascal Desroches, at a virtual conference hosted by Oppenheimer, via Ars Technica.
The global chip shortage has already impacted a wide range of industries, from tech to automotive, with Ford announcing shipments of its Mach-E would be delayed. AT&T is likely not the last company that will have to alter its plans as a result of the shortage.