Wave: Because it seems 61 million subscribers had pretty good thoughts about the Cingular brand.
Mr. Whitacre: Well, that’s true. Hopefully, most people had good thoughts when they
heard about our decision. Cingular has done a great job with the brand name.
Wave: Obviously, the numbers reflect that. The last quarter for 2006 was a good one for the company.
Mr. Whitacre: It really was, and I think the numbers will even be better with AT&T’s name.
Wave: Looking at the wireless industry generally, how would you describe the evolution that has occurred to this point?
Mr. Whitacre: I think Bell Labs predicted in 1981 that by 1990 there would be about one million customers. Obviously, they were wrong.
It’s a very competitive business. Most markets have at least five or six competitors. It’s a very dynamic service. It’s convenient. People want to be able to talk wherever they are. It’s evolving the way you would assume it would because it provides consumers with so much.
It’s also going to evolve into more and more data usage. We can see that. Lots of text messages. Some content. You can watch TV over the phone now. So it’s a dynamic industry. Obviously, people have a great desire to communicate and be entertained on the move, and I think that desire will only grow in the future.
Wave: Do you have a sense of what you think consumers would rather have if they had to choose between content or mobility?
Mr. Whitacre: I think given that choice they would take mobility. They would like to be able to be in touch with somebody no matter where they are. So I think mobility is big.
Wave: I guess it plays back to trying to get that box around convergence.
Mr. Whitacre: Yes, we’re back on that term again. (Laughing) I’ll tell you what, I sure hope it works because we’re spending a ton of money on this 3G stuff, and now there’s a fourth generation on the horizon.
