AT&T CEO: Q3 subscriber adds will surpass previous quarter

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said that the company is on pace to add more mobile subscribers in the third quarter than it did in the second quarter. He also said that regulation of the telecom industry seemed to be tougher under the Obama administration.

"Right now we're on pace in the third quarter to exceed what we did in the second quarter in terms of subscriber adds," he said at a Goldman Sachs conference. AT&T added 1.4 million net new mobile subscribers in the second quarter, ending with 79.6 million total subscribers. Stephenson did not provide specific third quarter figures.

He also said that he thought regulation of the telecom space had grown tighter under the new administration. Just last month the FCC opened a probe into the wireless industry on several fronts, and earlier this summer the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Justice may look into the business practices of U.S. telecom firms such as AT&T and Verizon Communications.

Indeed, Stephenson described the Justice Department's review of AT&T's proposed $944 million purchase of Centennial Communications as tough and slow process, according to Reuters. Earlier this week, AT&T said that the deal likely will close later than expected. The two companies now expect the deal to close early in the fourth quarter. Previously, AT&T had said that the deal likely would close in the third quarter.  

For more:
- see this Reuters article [1]

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