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Mergers and Acquistions News

Categories: Telecoms

December 21st 2010, 16:43PM

AT&T, the largest fixed line telephony provider in the US, has acquired spectrum licenses from wireless telecoms and chip maker Qualcomm for $1.9 billion (£1.2 billion) as the firm looks to increase its 4G mobile offering.

The lower 700 MHz frequency band covers over 300 million people across the US, including in New York, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

AT&T said the acquisition is part of its long-term 4G plans and intends to use the spectrum as supplemental downlink via carrier aggregation technology.

According to Reuters, AT&T has acquired the space because of the strain the iPhone - the firm is the only iPhone operator in the US - is putting on its network. Customers had claimed that they had experienced slow web connections and dropped calls.

"We think the transaction is a modest positive for AT&T, as it gives the company more breathing room in spectrum and capacity-constrained markets," Piper Jaffray analyst Christopher Larsen told Reuters.

Subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions, the deal is expected to complete during the second half of 2011.ADNFCR-1833-ID-800304837-ADNFCR

 

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