In the face of industry criticism over the T-Mobile deal, AT&T execs are giving U.S. regulator the FCC a nudge to approve the telco's takeover of Qualcomm's FLO TV 700 MHz spectrum, as the pending deal rounds the 180-day mark for approval.
AT&T announced in December 2010 that it plans to acquire the prime 700 MHz beachfront band for $1.93 billion, but an official FCC blessing has been slow in coming. The carrier has now filed an official plea: "AT&T noted that the above-referenced transaction has been pending for almost 180 days. AT&T urged the expeditious grant of the transaction application."
Qualcomm's overlay network, once earmarked for a proprietary mobile TV service, covers 300 million people across the country, including 70 million people in the top-tier markets of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco. AT&T plans to use the spectrum to boost capacity for its LTE rollout.
One reason for the delay is the way the deal fits into AT&T's overall acquisition activities, especially its planned takeover of No. 4 wireless carrier T-Mobile USA. T-Mobile and about 40 individual licenses are in AT&T's sights--and they all will add 700-MHz airwaves to AT&T's competitive war chest. The 700 band is the U.S.'s go-to band for the rollout of next-gen wirelss services, like video.
A range of carriers and carrier groups, including Cincinnati Bell Wireless, MetroPCS, NTELOS, the Rural Cellular Association and Sprint, see the moves as potentially monopolistic, and have asked the FCC to take a look at the T-Mobile, FLO and the individual license deals as one large transaction, arguing they were "part of AT&T's overall campaign to amass nationwide swathes of spectrum."
AT&T regulatory execs Robert Quinn and Joan Marsh were on hand in Washington D.C. to try and move the process along through in-person lobbying at the FCC as well.
