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Verizon's spectrum slam dunk over AT&T
- TAGS:AT&T, cable, Insider Content, Verizon Wireless, wireless spectrum
- IT TOPICS:Government & Regulation, LAN/WAN/Broadband/Wireless, Mobile, Networking
Talk about ironic: AT&T got slammed by the FCC for its $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile USA (and its spectrum) in recent days. Then on Friday, Verizon Wireless said it is buying wireless spectrum from three cable companies for $3.6 billion.
Given recent history, the FCC seems fairly likely to approve the Verizon deal, which involves 122 Advanced Wireless Services licenses being purchased from SpectrumCo, a joint venture of Comcast, Tim Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. Verizon said those licenses will serve 259 million people in the U.S.
So far, none of the critics of the big AT&T merger with T-Mobile have stepped forward to condemn the cable spectrum deal with Verizon as anti-competitive or likely to eliminate jobs as they did with AT&T.
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