FCC clears AT&T purchase of Qualcomm spectrum

The US FCC has approved AT&T’s proposed acquisition of spectrum in the previous analogue TV 700MHz band initially bought by Qualcomm. The licences cover more than 300 million people and where previously used to power Qualcomm’s Flo TV service. The spectrum will help AT&T expand its mobile broadband coverage, after the company failed to acquire more frequencies through the takeover of T-Mobile USA. The companies expect to close the transaction in the coming days. The deal was first announced a year ago, when AT&T said it plans to use the spectrum as supplemental downlink, using carrier aggregation technology. This new technology is designed to deliver substantial capacity gains by enabling unpaired spectrum to be used in conjunction with paired spectrum for 4G services.
Source: Telecompaper
Item added: 27th December 2011