AT&T and América Móvil part ways (RCR Mobile Minute)

Mobile Minute:
The Mobile Minute is sponsored by SpiderCloud Wireless.
AT&T wants to buy DirecTV for $48.5 billion, and the carrier is doing all it can to encourage regulators to approve the deal. It has promised to abide by the FCC’s 2010 net neutrality rules for three years from closing, whether or not those rules are extended for other companies. And it has agreed to divest its holdings in América Móvil, as América Móvil and DirecTV are direct competitors in the Latin American pay TV market. The sale of its $564 million América Móvil stake ends AT&T’S 22-year relationship with that company’s controlling shareholder, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.
“Together we have created value for shareholders, we have changed commerce, and we have changed the welfare of countries,” said AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson in a conference call discussing the deal. He added that América Móvil has invested more than its competitors in the region. “I learned a lot from Carlos,” said Stephenson. “He is a dear friend, and now he is a competitor. We recognize that and off we go.”