FCC Says AT&T Can Buy 700 MHz Licenses from Peoples
Jan 14, 2016, 2:14 PM by Eric M. Zeman
The FCC has approved AT&T's request to purchase two Lower 700 MHz C Block licenses from Peoples Wireless in Texas. The transaction gives AT&T 24 MHz of contiguous, paired Lower 700 MHz spectrum in two cellular market areas. AT&T says this will let it deploy 10x10 MHz LTE carrier aggregation and improve coverage/performance. The two CMAs cover 17 counties across Texas. Despite the fact that the transaction falls below the 1 GHz threshold and will give AT&T control over more than one-third of the low-band spectrum in the named markets, the FCC feels there is little chance of competitive harm. Moreover, the improved performance of AT&T's network in the region may in fact benefit consumers. The agency has thus given AT&T permission to move forward with the acquisition. Small transactions such as this are common between companies. AT&T did not place a dollar value on the spectrum transfer.
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