AT&T CEO Admits That T-Mobile Bid Wasn't Well Executed

From DailyTech: Back in 2010, AT&T decided that it would try to purchase rival wireless carrier T-Mobile. AT&T offered Deutsche Telekom $39 billion for T-Mobile, and it was eager to sell. The problem for both of the wireless carriers was the regulators stepped in and killed the deal.

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson recently talked a bit about the failed purchase, stating, "I wouldn't say it was a bad decision, but it was a decision that didn't go the way I wanted. We didn't execute well."

Stephenson made the comments during an interview with University of Colorado Law school dean Phil Weiser. Stephenson described the failed deal as one of the worst moments of his career as CEO of AT&T. However, he describes landing the iPhone exclusive in 2007 as one of his best.

Stephenson said of the iPhone deal, "We didn't have a great vision as to where this would go, we just knew that when you took data utilization and made it mobile, it would explode."

"We were betting on Steve Jobs," Stephenson continued. "And time has proven that to be a good bet. But it was not a partnership that came without pain."

Stevenson also noted that he expects Dish Network to join in with an existing wireless carrier to use its 40MHx of S-Band wireless spectrum rather than trying to roll out its own LTE network.

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