The Federal Communications Commission has given AT&T the green light on its $780 million acquisition of Atlantic Tele-Network’s Alltel assets. The two companies closed the deal late Friday. The FCC had delayed the transaction a few weeks ago, but AT&T won approval after agreeing to several conditions.
AT&T committed to the deployment of HSPA+ within 15 months at all the Alltel cell sites that will be integrated into its network. Within 18 months, AT&T will bring LTE to the integrated cell sites at which AT&T holds AWS-1 or lower 700 MHz Band B- or C-Block spectrum and where high-speed backhaul service is currently available to the carrier. The carrier estimates that 75% of the 4.5 million people covered by the Alltel network will have access to LTE within 18 months.
Alltel subscribers who need a new phone in order to connect to AT&T Mobility’s network will get one from AT&T at no charge, and will not be required to extend their contracts. AT&T says it hopes to move the Alltel subscribers to its network by the middle of 2014.
AT&T also promised to maintain Alltel’s CDMA-based network for more than a year. The carrier says it will offer voice and data roaming services on that network until at least 2015. Furthermore, AT&T said it would continue to support CDMA prepaid service until at least July 2014.
The FCC imposed the requirements to ensure that AT&T did not convert the Alltel network without making provisions for the carrier’s 620,000 subscribers, who live mostly in rural areas. The nation’s second largest carrier is getting spectrum licenses in the 700, 850 and 1900 MHz bands. The Alltel network serves customers in Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio and South Carolina.
Towers for sale
AT&T also confirmed reports that it was looking at the potential sale of its tower assets. Reports surfaced last week that the telecom giant was looking to unload between 10,000 and 11,000 towers for around $5 billion. Potential suitors for the sites included the usual array of tower companies, though Wells Fargo Securities senior analyst Jennifer Fritzsche seemed to think Crown Castle International stood out as the most likely acquirer. Crown Castle last year acquired 7,200 towers from T-Mobile US for $2.4 billion.
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