AT&T, Verizon May Pick Texas, Utah for ‘Mercury’ Test
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AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless, the two biggest U.S. mobile carriers, picked cities in Texas, Minnesota and Utah to test a smartphone payments system that may one day supplant plastic debit and credit cards, according to two people with direct knowledge of the plan.
The venture, which includes Deutsche Telekom AG unit T-Mobile USA as a minority partner, chose Austin, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City for the project, code-named Mercury, the people said. A pilot is set to start in the middle of next year, the people said, speaking anonymously because they are subject to confidentiality agreements. Atlanta may be a fourth city, other people have said.