AT&T Buy of Qualcomm, Fuego Licenses Gets FCC Nod
The FCC Wireless Bureau approved AT&T’s buy of a single 700 MHz B-block license covering one local market area in New Jersey from Qualcomm. AT&T already has more than one-third of the below-1 GHz spectrum in New Jersey 1-Hunterdon, so…
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the deal got extra scrutiny, the bureau said. “The record provides general support for the Applicants’ contentions that the proposed transaction would likely result in some public interest benefits post-transaction in this market,” said a Wednesday order. “We anticipate that AT&T, through the acquisition of this … spectrum, would likely be able to improve and enhance its LTE network. By adding this specific low-band spectrum to fill in the gap in its Lower 700 MHz spectrum holdings in the Northeast corridor between Boston and Washington D.C., AT&T potentially would be able to provide its consumers with consistently greater throughput.” The bureau also cleared AT&T’s buy of 700 MHz licenses in New Mexico from Fuego Wireless. AT&T is buying three lower 700 MHz B-block licenses and a single C-block license (see 1607050068). “After carefully evaluating the likely competitive effects of AT&T’s increased aggregation of below-1-GHz spectrum in the relevant market areas, we find that the ability of rival service providers to offer a competitive response to any anticompetitive behavior on the part of AT&T is unlikely to be materially lessened,” said a bureau order. “The record provides general support for the Applicants’ claims that the proposed transaction would likely result in some public interest benefits.”