AT&T CEO: Prices will not rise for consumers

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — The proposed merger of wireless giant AT&T and media powerhouse Time Warner isn’t about raising prices for consumers, but lowering them, AT&T’s CEO said Tuesday.

Noting a new DirecTV package of 100 channels priced at $35 monthly aimed at cord cutters will bow next month, “this is a way to drive down prices,” AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said at the Wall Street Journal’s WSJ.D Live conference here.

AT&T looks to take on cable as a major competitor, both with its DirecTV subsidiary, and having Time Warner (CNN, HBO, Warner Bros. studio) under the corporate umbrella.

“This deal was about how can we change the game in this ecosystem,” Stephenson said. “If there was ever an environment begging for a change, this is it.”

He cited 20 million people who have cut the cord from cable TV. ”How do you begin to access that segment of the market?” he asked.

Looking toward the future, Stephenson waxed on about the possibilities of the next stage of mobile delivery from super-fast 5G networks, which he said would begin deployment from AT&T in 2018.

With 5G, “we will be head to head with cable companies,” he said. “It will be a nationwide platform for video delivery,” adding that everyone from virtual and augmented reality, autonomous cars and healthcare applications will be able to make use of the “low latency really fast networks.”

In a joint talk with Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, the two said TW products will not be offered as exclusives to AT&T customers.

To those, like politicians Donald Trump and Tim Kaine who have expressed concerns about the proposed merger, Stephenson called them “uninformed,” and said his merger was “vertical” not “horizontal,” which are the ones that remove a competitor.

An example is when AT&T tried to acquire No. 3 wireless carrier T-Mobile, which ran into regulatory rejections, and was withdrawn in 2011.

Follow USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham on Twitter, @jeffersongraham