AT&T Wireless Tops New “North American Green Carriers” ABI Research Scorecard

LONDON - September 16, 2009

AT&T Wireless has been ranked at the top of the latest Vendor Matrix released by ABI Research.

Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless claimed the second and third spots in the company’s new scorecard of North American “green” mobile network operators.

“The Green Carrier Matrix ranks operators on their environmentally friendly, clean technology initiatives primarily focused around green network infrastructure, green network equipment, green handsets and handset recycling,” says senior analyst Aditya Kaul.

“AT&T leads the matrix as the greenest operator in North America followed closely by Sprint Nextel. AT&T takes a slight lead over Sprint partly due to its focus on green innovation and R&D. AT&T has already implemented programs and defined goals in the green network infrastructure area. AT&T has also defined new metrics to measure carbon reduction. Sprint, however, gets special credit in the areas of green handsets, handset recycling, green buildings, and green IT.”

The Vendor Matrix is an analytical tool developed by ABI Research to provide a clear understanding of vendors’ positions in specific markets. Vendors are assessed on the important parameters of “innovation” and “implementation” across several criteria unique to each vendor matrix.

For this particular matrix, under "innovation," ABI Research examined operators’ innovative applications or uses of technology for green networks; the direct or indirect impact on green innovations for the supplier value chain; innovative metrics used by the operators for the measurement of carbon/energy reduction, their activities in smart grid networks, their green networks R&D, and “other” green R&D.

Under "implementation," ABI Research scrutinized the following criteria: green mobile network infrastructure; green buildings and facilities; green IT; handset/battery/accessory recycling; the operators’ teleworking and teleconferencing initiatives; the greenness of their transport fleets and logistics; their green handset, content and user-awareness strategies, and green packaging.

To view a chart showing the rankings of the “top ten” firms in this Vendor Matrix, please visit North American Green Carrier Matrix. Registration on the ABI Research website (free) is required. Access to the rankings and profiles of all companies surveyed is available to clients of ABI Research.

This Vendor Matrix forms part of ABI Research’s Clean Telecoms Research Service. For a list of all ABI Research Vendor Matrices, please visit The ABI Research Vendor Matrix.

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of emerging trends in global connectivity. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advise thousands of decision makers through 25 research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.