AT&T now has 39 lower 700MHz B block licenses covering 42 million people in 18 states.

Sarah Thomas, Director, Women in Comms

September 11, 2013

1 Min Read
AT&T Closes $1.9B Verizon Spectrum Buy

AT&T has closed its $1.9 billion acquisition of spectrum licenses from Verizon Wireless, a transaction announced in January. (See: AT&T Strikes $1.9B Spectrum Deal With Verizon.)

The deal gives AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) 39 lower 700MHz B Block licenses it can use to bolster its LTE network in 18 US states: Colorado, California, Idaho, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. In exchange, the carrier has given Verizon Wireless Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum in Phoenix; Los Angeles; Fresno, Calif.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Portland, Ore.

The deal closed around the same time that AT&T agreed to work with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on interoperability in the lower 700MHz bands. AT&T was staunchly opposed to support for LTE band 12 in its devices, since it operates in band 17. However, it did an about-face Tuesday by agreeing to support band 12 and work on any interference issues that could come up between bands 17 and 12 to work toward interoperability.

Why this matters
AT&T plans to reach 420 cities and cover 270 million people before the end of the year, and it's well on its way to reaching those numbers. At last count, it was in 397 cities covering 225 million people. Verizon's spectrum, in the valuable 700MGHz bands, covers 42 million people and will give AT&T more bandwidth to reach its objectives. (See: AT&T Close to 400 Live 4G LTE Markets.)

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— Sarah Reedy, Senior Editor, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Sarah Thomas

Director, Women in Comms

Sarah Thomas's love affair with communications began in 2003 when she bought her first cellphone, a pink RAZR, which she duly "bedazzled" with the help of superglue and her dad.

She joined the editorial staff at Light Reading in 2010 and has been covering mobile technologies ever since. Sarah got her start covering telecom in 2007 at Telephony, later Connected Planet, may it rest in peace. Her non-telecom work experience includes a brief foray into public relations at Fleishman-Hillard (her cussin' upset the clients) and a hodge-podge of internships, including spells at Ingram's (Kansas City's business magazine), American Spa magazine (where she was Chief Hot-Tub Correspondent), and the tweens' quiz bible, QuizFest, in NYC.

As Editorial Operations Director, a role she took on in January 2015, Sarah is responsible for the day-to-day management of the non-news content elements on Light Reading.

Sarah received her Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She lives in Chicago with her 3DTV, her iPad and a drawer full of smartphone cords.

Away from the world of telecom journalism, Sarah likes to dabble in monster truck racing, becoming part of Team Bigfoot in 2009.

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