AT&T East Coast Business DSL

This number doesn't work for anything now, even though it was once an AT&T phone number. When you dial, you get an automated message thanking you for calling AT&T, but letting you know that the number you've dialed is no longer in service.

If you wish to continue to speak to someone from AT&T, the automated voice tells you to hang up and dial 1-800-288-2020 for assistance. The system then says goodbye, but it doesn't actually hang up the phone. That's left to the caller, as the system allows you to stay on the phone for as long as you want until you actually do hang up.

Researching this number shows that this number was once used for AT&T's East Coast business DSL arm of its customer service, but it appears that number was disconnected as early as 2018. It might have once been used for BellSouth's internet services under the AT&T umbrella, but it's clear that AT&T hasn't made any efforts to maintain it since at least before the pandemic.

Further research suggests that this number could have been used for BellSouth's customer service in the Southeast before getting amalgamated into the AT&T family. What is clear is that AT&T isn't the one promoting this number. When searching for this phone number on Google, none of the results on the first page are from an AT&T owned and operated website.

The last instance of this phone number showing up on an AT&T-owned website came from its forums, which suggested customers in the South could call this number for customer service in February 2018. Nothing else hints to AT&T using this number for anything at any time in the recent past.

Overall, I think AT&T has done a fine job of helping its legacy customers who might be reluctant to change or update their phone books. As a legacy phone carrier, AT&T likely has a lot of brand loyalty built up from older customers who are more likely to maintain a list of phone numbers either on their wall or on their Rolodexes.

When an older customer gets a phone number for a business, they're not likely to change it unless they have to. Given that the only way a customer would reach this number is if they had it saved, it's clear AT&T understands a portion of its customer base and wants to make the transition as easy as possible.

Given that this number doesn't work at all, I wouldn't use it for anything other than getting the new number and making sure you have it written down. While AT&T's commitment to its customers is admirable, that doesn't make this number very useful.