April 2 (Bloomberg) -- AT&T Inc., the biggest U.S. wireless carrier, said it's now ``very interested'' in using mobile-phone software developed by Google Inc. and its partners, overcoming its initial skepticism about the project.
The software, known as Android, is more flexible than AT&T had expected, Ralph de la Vega, chief executive officer of the carrier's wireless unit, said yesterday in an interview in Las Vegas. It will allow the company to alter phones to run features other than those Google is offering.
By adopting Android, AT&T could offer phones that download Web pages more quickly than current models and let subscribers customize their handsets. Google, owner of the most popular Internet search engine, wants consumers to use the Internet more on their mobile phones, helping to boost the ad revenue it collects from Web queries.
``I'm pretty impressed with what I have seen,'' de la Vega said. ``I like the progress they're making.''
Google announced in November that it had joined Motorola Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. and others to develop a wireless operating system. AT&T rivals Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA Inc. are also part of the Android development group.
De la Vega said in November that while he was open to an Android phone, he wasn't sure Google would allow substitutes for its own applications, such as map and e-mail programs, and expressed the hope that Google's participation in the alliance wasn't ``self-serving.''
`More Positive'
Since then, Google has briefed him on the project's progress, he said yesterday. The company allayed his fears, showing him how quickly Android can download Web pages and how easy it is to run other features on the system, he said.
``I've gotten a lot more positive the more I see it,'' de la Vega said. ``We're going to be able to take Android if we want and put it into our devices and be able to customize the experience for our customers.''
AT&T's wireless unit offers handsets that run software from Microsoft Corp., Symbian Ltd. and Research In Motion Ltd. The company is also the exclusive U.S. carrier for Apple Inc.'s iPhone. Adding Android phones would give customers another option, de la Vega said.
He wouldn't say when San Antonio-based AT&T could offer an Android phone. Based on his talks with Google, he estimated it will take several months before any carrier offers one. He said he doesn't believe AT&T will need to become an official member of the Android alliance to use the software.
Verizon Wireless, the second-biggest U.S. mobile carrier, may also add Android phones to its lineup, both in its official retail business and through a program that lets developers sell their own devices for use on its network, the company's chief technology officer, Tony Melone, said yesterday in an interview.
AT&T fell 76 cents to $38.72 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock exchange composite trading. The shares had declined 6.8 percent this year. Mountain View, California-based Google dropped 1 cent to $465.70 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
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