DALLAS -- AT&T today named F. Thaddeus Arroyo to lead Iusacell as its Chief Executive Officer. Arroyo, a 19-year AT&T veteran, will lead a Mexico City-based team dedicated to a successful transition for Iusacell customers and employees.

“We’ll begin work immediately to bring more wireless competition and improved mobile Internet service to Mexico,” said Arroyo. “We’re also excited to begin working on our plans to create the first-ever North American Mobile Service area covering more than 400 million consumers and businesses in Mexico and the United States. We look forward to bringing the benefits of AT&T’s technology and resources to Mexico and contributing to the country’s bright economic future.”

Iusacell’s former CEO Adrian Steckel will assist Arroyo with the integration of Iusacell into AT&T. “I’m grateful for Adrian’s past leadership of Iusacell and look forward to working closely with him and the rest of our new colleagues as we enhance and expand our service to provide customers with more wireless choices and more competition,” said Arroyo.

Previously, Arroyo served as president of AT&T Technology Development. He has successfully advanced AT&T’s technology innovation strategy to become an innovation-fueled organization focused on creating new value and velocity for AT&T’s business, customers and partners. Under Arroyo’s leadership, AT&T has won numerous awards for the innovative application of technology to transform business models and improve the customer experience. Individually, he has also been recognized for his contributions to the technology industry through thought leadership, innovation, and creativity in planning and technology deployment.

In addition, Arroyo has held numerous senior executive positions with the company, including Chief Information Officer (CIO) of AT&T, CIO of AT&T Mobility and CIO of Cingular Wireless. Previously, Arroyo was senior vice president of product marketing and development at Sabre Corporation, a leader in software solutions for the travel industry.

He holds a B.A. in mathematics from the University of Texas at Arlington (Texas) and an MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

In a separate release:

DALLAS -- AT&T (NYSE:T) has closed its US$2.5 billion acquisition of Mexican wireless provider Iusacell from Grupo Salinas. AT&T acquired all of Iusacell’s wireless properties, including licenses, network assets, retail stores and approximately 9.2 million subscribers. The Iusacell wireless network currently covers about 70 percent of Mexico’s approximately 120 million citizens.

“The quick approval of this deal is one more example of why Mexico is an attractive place to invest,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO. “We look forward to bringing more wireless competition to Mexico along with an improved mobile Internet experience for customers. Expanding and enhancing Iusacell’s mobile network to cover millions of additional consumers and businesses is our top priority.”

With its acquisition of Iusacell, AT&T plans to create the first-ever North American Mobile Service area covering more than 400 million consumers and businesses in Mexico and the United States. “It won’t matter which country you’re in or which country you’re calling – it will all be one network, one customer experience,” said Stephenson.

AT&T has the United States’ most reliable 4G LTE network with the strongest LTE signal of any U.S. provider,2 and it intends to bring those same network strengths to Mexico. The company’s investments in Mexico — where smartphone penetration is about half that of the United States — will help it address increasing demand for high-speed mobile Internet services in Mexico. AT&T sees a significant opportunity to increase smartphone adoption and mobile Internet usage in Mexico.

AT&T said Iusacell represents a natural geographic expansion of its wireless footprint in a country with a growing economy that is interconnected with the U.S. economy. Mexico has a rapidly growing middle class, and the second-largest economy and one of the highest per capita GDPs in Latin America. AT&T also said that Iusacell is a good long-term growth opportunity, with manageable near-term cash flow and capital expenditure requirements. The company expects synergies from customer additions, economies of scale and sharing of best practices.

Iusacell will continue to be headquartered in Mexico City. AT&T has identified a team, to be based in Mexico City, to oversee the Iusacell integration effort.

As previously discussed, Grupo Salinas has retained ownership and control of Iusacell’s Total Play businesses.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T)
Grupo Iusacell S.A. de C.V.