While its biggest rival, Verizon (NYSE: VZ), openly touts its desire to compete with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) in the realm of digital advertising, AT&T's intentions have been less clear.
Fresh of its $49 billion purchase of DirecTV, however, analysts say AT&T is quietly putting together the foundation of a dominant advertising business, assembling the wherewithal to offer marketers the ability to precisely target consumers across digital services.
The Wall Street Journal has a full analysis of AT&T's (NYSE: T) potential plans here.