AT&T's Vision of Ultrafast Wireless Technology May Be a Mirage [telecom]

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The rapid wireless technology the company has described as a pillar of its Time Warner deal probably is a decade away from meaningful deployment.

By Brian X. Chen and Mark Scott

Randall L. Stephenson, AT&T's chief executive, has a vision for the future if regulators approve his company's blockbuster $85.4 billion bid for Time Warner.

It goes like this: In a few years, your cellphone's data connection will be so fast that you can download a television show in the blink of an eye and a movie in less than five seconds. (That compares with up to eight minutes now for a movie.) When that happens, Mr. Stephenson has suggested, you may as well just watch TV with your cellular connection and cancel your cable subscription.