AT&T’s filing with Sirius XM on their agreement on Wireless...

important step in terms of enhancing its amount of ‘usable’ spectrum, there is still a substantial amount of work to be done before WCS can be used and potential negotiations [AT&T] must undertake if it wants to consolidate its holding,” Fritzsche wrote. “Although we view this news as an incremental positive for AT&T, we would put it in the ‘long term’ bucket in terms of spectrum solutions. In our view, this is not the only path AT&T will pursue as it looks to secure greater spectrum to meet future data demand.” Credit Suisse also sees the help as coming well down the road. “Clearing WCS spectrum for commercial deployment requires five steps that are complex, involving multiple parties and therefore susceptible to delay,” Credit Suisse said in a research note. Build out of the spectrum alone could take two years, it said. “We view AT&T’s 4-5 year timeline as the best-case scenario -- it could easily take longer,” the firm said. “As such, we believe WCS spectrum should not impact AT&T’s appetite for additional spectrum from other sources that can be deployed sooner. … We continue to believe AT&T will act to close the gap, with DISH’s S-Band spectrum, [Clearwire’s] 2.5 GHz spectrum and potential Verizon AWS divestitures being AT&T’s best options.” “It’s a big deal,” Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett said in an email Wednesday. “On the margin, it makes Clearwire a less likely option for AT&T, and it makes a deal for Dish Network look even less likely as well."