Potential merger may create the world’s largest telecommunications operator

AT&T may be taking over Europe’s largest mobile phone network, Vodafone, the same company that created Verizon.

AT&T Inc. (T) executives are laying the groundwork internally for a potential takeover of Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) next year, mapping out a strategy for a complex deal with Europe’s largest mobile carrier, people familiar with the situation said.