This is the real question. The reason for this is simple. AT&T’s primary business is competing for wireless customers against other wireless companies in a government mandated cartel(there only so much wireless spectrum the government can set aside for cell phone communications). Their profits are inflated because they only have 2-3 competitors. It’s a dead easy business to make money on. When you have a company that has a monopoly and makes a profit, it doesn’t matter who you promote, as long as the fundamentals of the business don’t change, you’re basically sitting back and cashing checks. The problem is that people don’t like to sit back and cash checks. They think they have to reinvent the wheel in order to be successful. These incompetent managers think they are smart because they make a profit, and that leads them into a lot of trouble.