AT&T pledges 5 000 call centre jobs

wireless call centre jobs, currently based abroad, back to the US if it is allowed to proceed with its proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA, writes Canadian Business.

The company is also promising that the merger would not result in any job losses for AT&T and T-Mobile USA wireless call centre employees who are on the payroll in the US when the deal closes.

AT&T's commitment to repatriate jobs comes as antitrust regulators at the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department ramp up their reviews of a combination that is certain to reshape the wireless industry's landscape.

As part of the transaction, Deutsche Telekom will receive an equity stake in AT&T that would give Deutsche Telekom an ownership interest in AT&T of approximately 8% and a Deutsche Telekom representative will join the AT&T board of directors, states CBR.

AT&T has said the deal provides an optimal combination of network assets to add capacity sooner than any alternative, and it provides an opportunity to improve network quality in the near term for both companies' customers.

AT&T and T-Mobile argue that the acquisition would benefit consumers. They say it would lead to fewer dropped and blocked calls and faster mobile Internet connections for subscribers by allowing the companies to combine their limited wireless spectrum holdings at a time when both are running out of airwaves to handle mobile apps, online video and other bandwidth-hungry services, reports 570 News.

They also say the transaction would position AT&T to cover more than 97% of the US population with its new high-speed, fourth-generation wireless service.