AT&T Plans to Acquire NextWave Wireless, WCS-band Spectrum
By Jeffrey Hill | August 3, 2012
[Satellite TODAY 08-03-12] AT&T is planning to acquire NextWave Wireless and the licenses to its 2.3GHz WCS-band spectrum, which is adjacent to spectrum used by satellite radio services, the company confirmed Aug. 2.
AT&T said it would pay $50 million for NextWave and another $550 million to pay off NextWave’s outstanding debt. AT&T is seeking approval for the acquisition from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by the end of this year. The company also said that deploying WCS spectrum to boost its 4G-LTE capacity would take at least three years.
AT&T additionally signed an agreement with Sirius XM that would ease concerns about interference and allow the spectrum, which is not currently licensed for mobile Internet, to be used in AT&T’s 4G-LTE network. The agreement also will require approval by the FCC.