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AT&T CEO Stephenson Says Wireless Is The Company's Core. And The iPhone Is Big, Too

AT&T's new CEO Randall Stephenson gave telecom blogger Om Malik some insight into the new AT&T and its plans. According to Stephenson, wireless will be central to AT&T's future. Oh, and that iPhone is gonna be big, too.

Here is Stephenson on AT&T's new mission:

OM: AT&T is a fearsome company now, with a weight of its legacy. Any first day jitters?

RS: Fearsome is the wrong word. The new AT&T is a 6-month-old company with a 130-year legacy of innovation and reliability behind us. When we closed the BellSouth deal in December, we finally put all the major pieces together.

The new AT&T is wireless at the core in terms of great new handsets; in terms of enabling true anytime, anywhere mobility that our customers want, and in terms of being innovative and service-oriented. If there are any jitters, it's from the excitement running through this company about our prospects.

Well, Randall, if wireless is so big, how come you guys don't have a nationwide 3G network yet? At AT&T's current pace, T-Mobile may have nationwide 3G and, more importantly, cooler 3G phones before the new AT&T.

More on that mission:

OM: There are a lot of challenges facing the company. What do you think is the biggest challenge facing AT&T as a company and you personally?

RS: Our biggest challenge as a company is to ensure that our customers really understand what the new AT&T is all about. We are the most complete communications and entertainment provider for the way people live -- and that starts with wireless. When people recognize that, we win. It's the same on the business side.

My personal challenge is to make sure that the pieces we've assembled -- industry-leading wireless, TV, broadband, global operations, and local service, work together as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

Again, if wireless is so crucial, where is the 3G? And how about dual-mode devices and services? Many, if not most, of AT&T's broadband customers use Wi-Fi at home. Sure, the iPhone will have Wi-Fi, but we still don't know how versatile and open that access will be. And as for the rest of AT&T's devices, forget about it.

If wireless is as key as Stephenson says it is, why doesn't AT&T offer more seamless dual-mode access? This is a lot of talk, but I want to see more evidence that AT&T is as serious about wireless as they claim.

And Stephenson on the iPhone:

OM: How vital is iPhone to your company? I have never seen AT&T push something so hard that wasn't developed internally. Why is that?

RS: The iPhone is a radically innovative new device and it only makes sense that AT&T and Apple would partner to bring it to market. This device is very important to us, it's important to Apple, and it's going to do very well with customers. It also reinforces with consumers that AT&T is the place to turn for the latest in wireless devices and services.

Nothing new here.

What do you think? Do you think that wireless is as important to AT&T as Stephenson claims it is? If so, do you think AT&T will launch more 3G devices this year as well as more dual-mode smartphones?

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