Qualcomm Gets Its $1.9 Billion From AT&T
By Joel West: Now that AT&T (T) has abandoned its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile (DTEGF.PK), on Thursday the FCC approved its $1.925b purchase of Qualcomm’s (QCOM) 700 MHz spectrum. This came almost exactly one year after the sale was announced, and a little more than four months after the FCC blocked the sale pending disposition of the T-Mobile acquisition.AT&T desperately needed spectrum for LTE service, particularly after the fiasco of its iPhone network crashes and the recent (successful) efforts of Verizon (VZ) to acquire new spectrum. In fact, spectrum was the nominal reason for buying T-Mobile. However, merger of the operators of the #2 and #4 largest US cellular networks always had serious antitrust concerns, which were realized when the Obama administration sued to block the sale.AT&T's small market rivals had hoped to use both the Qualcomm spectrum sale and the T-Mobile acquisition to win favorable roaming agreements. Indeed, FCC commissionerComplete Story »
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