Is Verizon's strategy better than AT&T's?

One of its large shareholders thinks so (article):

Elliott Management Corp.’s detailed criticism Monday of decisions made by AT&T’s leaders effectively praises rival Verizon Communications Inc. ’s focus on upgrading its wireless network over becoming a media giant.

Verizon's strategy is cutting costs with a big voluntary severance program, and improving and finding new uses for its 5G network.  So far it looks to be better than AT&T's, vertically integrating into content:

“While revenue per employee was nearly identical at both companies just over a decade ago (~$400k), today Verizon’s revenue per employee (~$900k) is nearly 30% higher than AT&T’s (~$700k),” Elliot wrote.