Ralph de la Vega of AT&T Mobility

AT&T, the phone carrier, has a lot in store for the coming year. On Monday at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it said that its new wireless home security system, Digital Life, would become available in March. And it plans major expansions for its fourth-generation LTE networks for cellphones.

In an interview from the giant trade show, Ralph de la Vega, chief executive of AT&T Mobility, talked about what he thinks will be important for the wireless industry in 2013. An edited transcript of the interview follows.

Q.What’s the big news for AT&T in 2013?

A.We highlighted today that we’re expanding our LTE coverage: We’re going to cover it out to 300 million POPs [points of presence] by 2014. On top of that we’re launching Digital Life, our all-digital home monitoring security service. You can manipulate your home all wirelessly through your smartphone or tablet. That’s an industry first, and a big idea we’re going to roll out throughout the country next year.

Q.Won’t people be afraid of reliability issues for wireless security? We’re accustomed to unreliable cellphones.

A.I think it’s the opposite. It makes your home more secure. You have some burglars who are not in the neighborhood and they were stealing packages from the front doors of customers. This customer using Digital Life programmed the platform, used a sensor device to detect motion on his front porch, set up a dummy package there and waited. When the guy stepped on the porch to pull the package, the customer got an SMS and called the police. They caught the guy in 30 minutes.

Q.T-Mobile’s finally getting the iPhone and they offer unlimited data plans. Does that make AT&T nervous?

A.We’ve seen Verizon get the iPhone, we’ve seen Sprint get the iPhone and offer unlimited data plans. And now T-Mobile will get it. But while all that’s happened, our customer loyalty has improved and churn has gone down.

Q.Any possibility of bringing back unlimited data?

A.None at this time.

Q.You mentioned you felt that mobile payments were about to reach critical mass in 2013. What needs to happen in order for mobile payments to get there?

A.We need to launch ISIS nationwide, and we have been doing trials in Salt Lake City and Austin, Tex., and the results are good. For example, ISIS has signed a deal with Coke for all the vending machines in Salt Lake City. And every vending machine there can be tapped with a smartphone to buy a Coke. I think we have to take the repetitive payment apps and put them on the phone to give people comfort.

Q.Is NFC, which enables devices to exchange information wirelessly over short distances, going to be a crucial component for mobile payments?

A.Absolutely. According to Strategy Analytics, there’s going to be 40 million NFC-equipped phones this year. All the new Android phones we have come equipped with NFC. So as you go through the upgrade cycle, you’ll have all these new phones with NFC built in.

There’s an opportunity for developers to think about what can they do with it, that’s a new thing. When Apple put something as simple as that LED on the back of the phone for camera purposes, somebody immediately thought that makes a great flashlight so they make flashlight apps. Now that NFC functionality is there, people will think of clever ways to use it.

Q.AT&T is a big supporter of Windows phones, but those still haven’t gained much traction in the phone market. What are your expectations for this year?

A.My expectations are for that market share to grow. This is the first year that Windows will have not just phones but tablets. They’ve been fighting against Android and Apple without a tablet. If you have the need for a tablet, do you want to have an Android tablet or an Apple tablet and a Windows phone? It cuts out a portion of the market. Now that Windows tablets are available — and we’re the first carrier to offer them — there’s a better chance that the ecosystem will flourish because now you have it on your PC, your tablet and on your smartphone. I think it’s a big deal, and people have not talked a lot about that.

Q.It seems 2012 was the year of the tablet. What is 2013?

A.I think it’s services on top of infrastructure. You see everybody talking about getting LTE, getting the next wave of technology, but in my view that’s just providing data access. The key is to use data access to provide new services like Digital Life, mobile payments or the connected car. Obviously tablets are going to be prevalent for all of that. But I think it’s more about services than devices per se.

With Digital Life, for example, I’m selling you the capability to remotely monitor your home. I can show you that can probably save you money. That’s what I’m so excited about. I think that’s a way to grow revenue, give customers new services and build upon the LTE platform we’ve invested in.