AT&T Inc. is moving its headquarters to Dallas from San Antonio. The move will start immediately and be completed by the end of the year with the company moving into existing AT&T offices at 208 South Akard St. in downtown Dallas.

About 700 of the company’s nearly 6,000 San Antonio-based workers are expected to move as well; however, AT&T will continue to maintain technical positions at its San Antonio location. Those workers making the move are mostly corporate staff, with the technical positions remaining in San Antonio.

AT&T, now the largest telecom company in the world, said the move to Dallas makes sense in light of the company’s growth. Teh company feels that with it’s global presence, being headquartered in Dallas will benefit their long-term growth prospects, human resources needs, their ability to operate more efficiently, better serve customers and expand the business in the future.

AT&T will also benefit from the concentration of telecommunications engineers and experts and the cluster of tech firms based in the so-called Telecom Corridor area in Richardson.

AT&T is the most recent big telecom firm to bring its headquarters to the Dallas area.

Last December, Research in Motion Ltd., the Ontario-based maker of the popular BlackBerry mobile e-mail device, chose Irving for the site of its new U.S. headquarters.

By revenue, AT&T will be the second-largest company based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area behind Exxon Mobil Corp.

When the move is complete, AT&T will have about 14,400 workers in the Dallas area.

AT&T is making the move as it gears up for the exclusive launch of Apple Corp.’s much anticipated new iPhone on July 11.