AT&T Inc. agreed to acquire NextWave Wireless Inc. in a deal valued at $600 million, as the telecommunications company vies for additional wireless airwaves. As part of the purchase, AT&T will get licenses for an unused band of spectrum called Wireless Communications Service or WCS. The telecom company is also hoping to get approval from the FCC to use the new airwaves for mobile internet service and filed for FCC approval of two smaller transfers of WCS spectrum from Comcast Corp. and Horizon Wi-Com LLC. If approved, these will give AT&T control over most of the WCS spectrum and allow for the future use of the WCS for mobile internet service. Any usage of WCS will take years, however, and AT&T noted that the company won’t be able to begin deploying the network over WCS for three and half years after any FCC approval.
AT&T Buys NextWave to Control Unused WCS Spectrum
