AT&T Moves to Plan B: FCC Approves AT&T Spectrum Purchase from Qualcomm

[dgstorm]

Well, it was only a few scant days since the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger was "terminated" before AT&T moved on to their backup plan. They recently issued a press release indicating that the FCC approved a deal for them to purchase additional spectrum from Qualcomm. Originally, one of the primary reasons that AT&T stated they wanted to buy T-Mobile was to acquire their spectrum to help expand their network. As quickly as they moved on this new spectrum deal with Qualcomm, it seems possible that the T-Mobile merger may not have been as necessary as they made it out to be. Regardless, here is AT&T's press release:

AT&T Receives Regulatory Approval for Purchase of Wireless Spectrum from Qualcomm

Dallas, Texas, December 22, 2011



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.

Source: BGR

 

[johnomaz]

And yet Verizon gets a bunch of issues when they go to purchase more spectrum.

 

[ilikemoneygreen]

This deal was in play well before they talked about purchasing t-mobile. I dont think its exactly a plan B. At&t isnt the one who needs a plan b, lol, tmobile is the without the spectrum and assets to build out 4g. tmobile watching this with a jealous and mad sneer on its face.
And johnomaz, i see what your saying but id have to disagree, Verizons deal is way different then this one. Its got a couple obvious things that raise red flags.