AT&T to buy Verizon spectrum for $1.9 billion

The new spectrum will help thecompany deploy 4G LTE services and meet mobile broadband demand from smartphones and tablets IDG News ServiceAT&T will buy mobile spectrumin the 700MHz band from Verizon Communications for US$1.9 billion, AT&T said Friday.AT&T will pay cash and trade AWS (advanced wireless services) spectrum for the B block of the 700MHz spectrum,the company said. Verizon will gain AWS spectrum licenses in several markets, including Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Portland, Oregon, AT&T said in a press release.[ Understand how to both manage and benefit from the consumerization of IT trend with InfoWorld's"Consumerization Digital Spotlight" PDF special report. |Subscribe to InfoWorld'sConsumerization of IT newslettertoday, then join our#CoIT discussion group at LinkedIn. ]In April,Verizon pledged to sellofftwo 12MHz blocks of mobilespectrum in the 700MHz band, including the B block, if U.S. regulators approved its purchase of spectrum from a group of cable providers.The U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved Verizon's purchase ofthe cable spectrum in August.Verizon purchased the 700MHzspectrum in a 2008 FCC auction. AT&T was also a major purchaser of B block licenses. The 700 MHz licenses to be acquired by AT&T cover 42 million people in 18 states, including California, Florida, New York and Virginia.The deal complements AT&T's existing holdings in the B block,the company said in a press release. The new spectrum willhelp the company deploy 4G LTE services and meet mobile broadband demand from smartphones and tablets, it added.In conjunction with the transaction, AT&T will sell a single AWS license to Grain Management, a wireless private equity firm, and will lease 700 MHz spectrum from Grain Management in three markets.The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. AT&T said it anticipates closing the transaction in the second half of 2013.