AT&T to Expand Spectrum With Qualcomm

AT&T unveiled its decision to purchase $1.9 billion of spectrum from Qualcomm last year. The transaction's approval gives AT&T added spectrum in major cities in the U.S. such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The FCC held up the deal, which was proposed last December, over concerns that it would hurt competition. AT&T's purchase of Qualcomm's spectrum meant the end of the pay-television service, FLO TV, taking another competitor out of the cable market.

However, the agency approved the deal under the condition that AT&T not interfere with other services or frequencies in the areas it acquired spectrum from.

AT&T's acquisition of the Qualcomm spectrum is a positive development for a company that has faced nothing but setbacks recently. The regulatory scrutiny facing AT&T's planned merger with T-Mobile proved to be too much to overcome, and the carrier ranked dead last in Consumer Reports recent survey on customer satisfaction.

The spectrum from Qualcomm may not make up entirely for AT&T's failed acquisition of T-Mobile, but it gives the carrier some momentum heading into 2012 as it continues to build out its LTE network. AT&T is angling to catch up with Verizon, which is in the process of attempting to acquire spectrum of its own from several different cable companies.

Verizon's purchases still have to be subjected to review by the FCC and the Department of Justice.

Verizon still has the upper hand with its network and LTE capacity, but AT&T's approved Qualcomm sale shows the carrier is fighting hard and may look to pull the trigger on more purchases in the future. Now that the FCC has given approval to one carrier looking to buy spectrum, it may set a precedent as the wireless providers look to make more transactions and expand their networks.

It has been a year of intense wheeling and dealing for AT&T, as its purchases took heat from the FCC. Even if the company had a tumultuous year over its attempted acquisitions, the approval of the Qualcomm deal lets the carrier put one in the win column.