We've already been cut to the bone. None of the services in our original ad - water shutoff, energy management, automatic doors, cameras are even sold anymore.
As a standalone security system we are top rated. We can't keep this level of service up without everyone on the team we have now.
They funny thing is that DL was beaten by all of the home automation products with no monthly recurring costs. These are now either owned by Amazon or Google, while DL only sells basic security packages.
Never would have thought Donovan was right about Google being our major competitor, but this is the reality in 2020.
1) I love Digital Life. I still have it and use it.
2) It could have been great but it’s not a product/service that should have ever been sold in a retail store. Cost to protect a home correctly is .75-$1/sq ft to cover all windows, doors, smoke alarms and all that. Meaning you had someone selling you an iPhone trying to sell you a $99 security system for your 4K sq ft home. That was completely stupid.
Remaining Digital life technicians/installers, there are 3 job reqs open for Mesa, AZ for Network Technical Specialists. They’re basically taking anyone willing to relocate for the positions regardless of your skill set or lack of. They’re even hiring people from admin for these positions...food for thought! Good luck!
I thought we sold off Digital life.
No one and nothing are safe right now. We were just told we are losing several of our company vehicles.
It was ATTs third attempt at home security since the 80s. Like most products that are successful ideas, they abandoned it.
It’s a damn shame because it was a great service/product when it was introduced. Had the company believed in it, it could have done well.
The trend these days for customers to do self-install everything, Digital Life is way too high touch. It took 2 guys more than 2 hours to install and configure sensors, and I didn't get the fancy package with cameras, motion sensors, auto door locks. Install a control panel into the wall, mounting a antenna unit, good luck getting customers to self-install those units.
The U.S. is going back into lockdown. A security product depends on people both continuing to have money to pay for it, and regularly leaving their homes for it to make the cut as a necessary ongoing expense.
As others have mentioned, Digital Life was unprofitable enough that AT&T both stopped posting subscriber numbers for it and tried unsuccessfully to sell it.
Sorry to say, this does not bode well for the security of your employment.
But we all find out on Friday. Good luck!
Couple of points. A VPGM said that stores are not actively selling Digital Life, customers have to ask for it. Customers are forced for listen to the TV sales pitch whether they like it or not.
Digital Life is based on 3G, the box with antennas installed in customer homes, and 3G will be retired by 2022. I have not heard of any investment to upgrade to 4/5G. Other can comment on this forum. The service does work with onsite internet, but wireless access with backup battery will serve during a power outage.
My best guess is DL will be sold off the another home security company or investment firm. It was Glenn Lurie's baby, once he was gone, the service didn't have a chance.
It should come as no surprise that AT&T is trying to sell non-core and underperforming businesses to reduce its debt load—again, easier said than done. For example, in order to drive efficiencies and lower costs, many non-core businesses are running on the same network that is performing well. Offerings like Digital Life, which was a bet on the part of AT&T and did not pan out, are hard to sell because they integrally use AT&T’s fixed and mobile assets for connectivity. Any buyer would be joined at the hip to AT&T for many years, and ultimately would find it unprofitable to create a network replicating AT&T’s or to switch to a different provider just to have a different choice.
https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/industry-voices-enter-elliott-s-ideas-for-fixes-at-at-t-are-anything-but-easy
They couldn't sell Digital Life, despite its underperforming. That makes it a prime candidate for failed product dissolution. Far from safe employment, it is likely to be scuttled altogether as an unprofitable product.
wow DL is still alive but sounds like it is on life support
DL is and has been dead
I laughed when I heard someone bring up DL, I thought they were tits up years ago
Digital what now?
DL has been failing for years. They'd sell it off, but can't find a greater fool. So they are managing for cash.
There is no honor in going down with that ship, and years of loyal service means absolutely nothing to this company.
Short answer: No, you are not necessarily safe. Nobody in any part of the company is safe, unless you are one of the top executives.
The AT&T way has no room for logic or reasoning. If they think they can save a dime right now on salary at the cost of a nine cents of earnings rather than invest so earnings double in a year, they'll take the short-sighted way out.