FCC Approves AT&T’s $1.9b Purchase of Qualcomm’s 700MHz Spectrum
Despite AT&T suffering a major setback with the recently failed T-Mobile acquisition, Ma Bell will still have reason to celebrate this holiday season after all. The FCC has officially approved AT&T’s purchase of Qualcomm’s 700MHz spectrum for a staggering $1.9 billion. The specific block of Qualcomm’s airwaves is currently being unused. After the deal is sealed, AT&T will be able to capitalize on the spectrum to increase download capacity for its rapidly increasing LTE network.
The FCC did approve the deal with a few of their own conditions as AT&T is asked to meet interference requirements and provide redata roaming to all its competitors on the spectrum. With only these minor stipulations set by the FCC, AT&T and Qualcomm could close this deal by the end of the year.
Update: AT&T just released a press release celebrating their FCC win, which can be read in full below.
AT&T Receives Regulatory Approval for Purchase of Wireless Spectrum from QualcommDALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AT&T* announced today that it has received all required regulatory approvals for AT&T’s acquisition of spectrum from Qualcomm. AT&T is purchasing 700 MHz spectrum licenses covering more than 300 million people for approximately $1.9 billion.“This spectrum will help AT&T continue to deliver a world-class mobile broadband experience to our customers,” said Bob Quinn, senior vice president-Federal Regulatory, AT&T. “We appreciate the FCC Chairman, the Commissioners and their staff for completing its review before the holidays.“As spectrum is the lifeblood of the U.S. wireless industry, we are pleased that the FCC did not reduce the spectrum screen, however, we continue to believe any changes to the process by which it is allocated should be subject to open and transparent public discussion and clear to everyone with an interest in ensuring the health of our industry.”The companies expect to close the transaction in the coming days.
