AT&T Gives Thanks For Holiday Spectrum Deal
This file photo taken April 21, 2010, shows an AT&T logo and sign on a window at a company store in Brunswick, Maine. (PAT WELLENBACH/AP, FILEP)
AT&T says it hopes to quickly finalize a $1.9 billion spectrum deal with Qualcomm after the Federal Communications Commission approved it on Thursday.
"This spectrum will help AT&T continue to deliver a world-class mobile broadband experience to our customers," AT&T Senior Vice President Bob Quinn said in a statement. "We appreciate the FCC Chairman, the Commissioners and their staff for completing its review before the holidays."
For just over $1.9 billion AT&T will buy 700 MHz spectrum licenses covering more than 300 million people. AT&T said the two companies will close the deal "in the coming days."
AT&T, which called spectrum the "lifeblood" of the wireless industry, had been seeking more spectrum resources through the Qualcomm deal as well as a mega-merger with rival T-Mobile USA.
The merger with T-Mobile fell through on Monday after regulators at the FCC and Justice Department moved to block it.
The Qualcomm buy was panned by groups that also opposed the T-Mobile merger. Free Press argued that by giving AT&T access to more of the high-quality 700 mHz spectrum, the FCC is potentially harming competition.
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