AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson, speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference, indicated that 700MHz spectrum bought from Qualcomm two years ago will be used for LTE-based TV broadcasting and so ease traffic congestion on the cellular network.

Somewhat ominously perhaps, Qualcomm previously used the frequencies for its failed MediaFLO mobile TV service.

The jury is still out on whether mobile consumers are keen on TV, although a much better choice of devices should be available by the time AT&T launches LTE Broadcast than when Qualcomm was trying to push MediaFLO.

Stephenson gave no timetable for service launch other than to say it was part of the company’s three-year plan.

Verizon Wireless is expected to be the first in the US to deploy LTE Broadcast, using next year’s Super Bowl as the launch event.