VIDEO INTERVIEW: Rival Verizon has launched its Go90 video app and T-Mobile is making waves with its free video streaming package, but AT&T claims its DirecTV acquisition has seen the US number two operator “put a pretty big chip on the table.”

In a recent interview with Mobile World Live, Laurent Therivel, AT&T’s SVP for mobile and business solutions strategy, commented that customers want all of their content, on all their devices, wherever they go; and the way to achieve this is to have scale in linear TV and in content acquisition.

“That’s what the DirecTV acquisition was all about,” he said, adding that it puts AT&T in a position to deliver content via its television and mobile network.

“Over time what I’m most excited about is bridging those two networks and developing integrated experiences and new capabilities that will help differentiate the service moving forward,” he said.

To ensure these services are delivered seamlessly, Therivel noted that AT&T will continue to invest heavily in spectrum, the “lifeblood of the industry”, as well as in software defined networking (SDN).

He explained that traditional infrastructure is not equipped to handle the wave of mobile video and the billions of devices that will come onto the network via the Internet of Things.

SDN provides “a much more flexible, malleable network,” he said.

Therivel also touched on the reputation of mobile operators, suggesting that work could be done in simplifying service offerings. He said AT&T will roll out roaming plans in coming months “that dramatically simplify things” for customers, “pulling the fear factor out of travelling and using data internationally.”

Watch the full interview here.