Because AT&T Co is itself a manufacturer of cellular equipment, its move for by far the biggest operator in the US market is being seen as bad for other equipment makers, notably L M Ericsson Telefon AB, which insists that it will not be affected to any large degree by the move for McCaw Cellular Communications Inc: McCaw has traditionally had several suppliers – ATT, Motorola Inc, Ericsson – since AT&T took 33% in McCaw, there has been a two supplier policy – AT&T and Ericsson – and we do not see any change, spokesman Per Bengtsson commented.
