The wireless story is almost as exciting for me as the Bakken story. Today,
very exciting news in wireless was reported:
AT&T Inc. has gone on a shopping spree for wireless spectrum,
striking three separate deals that should let it increase its capacity
for wireless broadband.
- will buy NextWave Wireless, Inc, a Dallas-based start-up
- will buy spectrum from Comcast Corp
- will buy spectrum from Horizon Wi-Com, a Miami-based start-up
Comcast has given up on its own plans to start a wireless network, and is selling most of its spectrum to Verizon Wireless.
This is exciting for a number of reasons, but perhaps most importantly:
The three deals all involved spectrum in one particular band. Put
together, they would provide near-nationwide coverage and a substantial
boost to AT&T's capacity. AT&T said it will begin to deploy the
spectrum in three years.
Total cost for these three deals is estimated at less than $1 billion. ATT's market cap is $220 billion and its operating cash flow is over $35 billion. This is an extremely small price to pay to provide ATT near-nationwide coverage. You all probably recall a competitor's very effective ad campaign some time questioning / challenging ATT's nationwide coverage, or lack thereof.
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