AT&T’s new operations in Mexico helped it to record top l ine growth in the second quarter of the year and all indications suggest the U.S. telco is close to getting the green light for its new domestic acquisition, DirecTV.
The U.S. telco reported revenue growth of 1.4% year-on-year in the three months to the end of June to US$33 billion.
The figures reflect Mexican acquisitions and pressure from foreign exchange issues and the firm’s discontinued global hubbing business.
AT&T acquired Mexican mobile operators Iusacell and Nextel earlier this year.
The telco increased operating income by 1.7% to $5.7 billion in the three months to the end of June, but net income slid by 14% to just over $3 billion.
"We grew revenues, expanded margins and delivered double-digit adjusted EPS and cash flow growth," said AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson, in a statement.
"We added more than 2 million new wireless subscribers as the repositioning of our smartphone base nears completion. We also began expanding high-quality, high-speed wireless service to Mexican consumers and businesses," he said.
"This is a pivotal time for us," Stephenson added. "We look forward to closing DirecTV and building on this momentum by delivering a new TV everywhere experience integrated with mobile and high-speed Internet service."
On Thursday FCC commissioner Mike O’Rielly said he had voted in favour of AT&T’s planned acquisition of DirecTV.
O’Rielly said he would share more information on the subject once his fellow commissioners have concluded their review of the situation.
Earlier this week the FCC confirmed that it had circulated an internal order to approve the deal subject to network buildout conditions. Specifically, the operator must agree to roll out fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) coverage to a further 12.5 million premises and submit all interconnection agreements to the FC C. It will also be prevented from excluding affiliated online video services and content from data caps on its broadband tariffs.
However, on Thursday consumer group Public Knowledge warned that the conditions being imposed on the deal do not go far enough to promote competition.
