AT&T CEO Makes Case T-Mobile Deal Will Boost IPhone Service

AT&T Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson, making his case for a proposed takeover of T-Mobile USA, said the deal would boost network capacity and improve service for devices such as Apple’s iPhone.

The acquisition would improve capacity on AT&T’s wireless network by about 30 percent in some of the largest U.S. cities, Stephenson said at an event at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. It could also reduce charges for overseas roaming, he said. “This transaction is very instrumental” in improving network service, said Stephenson at the event. “Virtually on the day you close the deal, getting a 30 percent lift in capacity in New York City: that’s a significant improvement in call quality and data throughput.” Stephenson said concerns about the merger limiting competition in the U.S. are unfounded. “This is an intensely competitive industry,” he said. “It is intense before we do this transaction, it will be intense after we do this transaction.”