Thursday, August 2, 2012

AT&T Buys NextWave Wireless

Dallas-based AT&T said this morning that it has acquired NextWave Wireless, an owner of bandwidth licenses in the Wireless Communication Services (WCS) and Advanced Wireless Service (AWS) bands. AT&T said it would pay $25M plus up to $25M in contingent payments, plus assume or retire the debt of NextWave Wireless, worth a total of $600M in cash. AT&T is in the process of working with FCC to allow use of the WCS spectrum, as part of a proposal it made with Sirius XM. That WCS spectrum has been unused, while the FCC worked out issues with possible interference to satellite radio users.