AT&T-Q1 broadband, access lines solid vs Q4 so far

NEW YORK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - AT&T Inc (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Thursday that broadband demand has improved somewhat so far in the first quarter and access lines are at or "maybe a little better" than in the fourth quarter.

The company said it had seen some softness in broadband Internet services and telephone access lines in the fourth quarter due to economic factors.

AT&T said the economic impact was in the neighborhood of about 0.1 percent in fourth-quarter customer cancellations versus the same quarter the year before.

"We feel good about our guidance and for 2008. The economy is always a risk; but when you look across our business, we're relatively defensive in these kinds of downturns," Chief Financial Officer Rick Lindner said on the company's quarterly conference call. (Reporting by Sinead Carew, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)