FCC approves AT&T’s 4G spectrum purchase from Qualcomm
Within days of its failed T-Mobile merger, AT&T has received the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s approval for its $1.92-billion purchase of 700MHz spectrum from Qualcomm --- a move which will help AT&T expand its 4G LTE network.
The 4G spectrum license which AT&T is acquiring was earlier used by Qualcomm for the FLO TV service which has been discontinued.
According to MacNN reports, the FCC approval to AT&T's purchase of wireless airwaves from Qualcomm comes much earlier than anticipated; given the fact that the commission had previously said that it was likely to make a decision on the deal in about a 180-day period from November 29.
A stipulation which goes with AT&T's purchase of Qualcomm's spectrum is that the carrier will be required to ensure protection against interference; and also offer to the customers of competing networks the ability to roam on its network. Going by the reports making rounds, the AT&T-Qualcomm spectrum agreement will likely become effective by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, with it being quite apparent that AT&T's purchase of spectrum from Qualcomm will still fall much short of the airwaves which the carrier was attempting to acquire in the proposed T-Mobile merger deal, officials at AT&T have revealed that the carrier will continue its hunt for additional spectrum. The purchase of increased airwaves will help AT&T ensure that its network is robust enough to avoid most of the customers' complaints about dropped calls and slow downloads.
