Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01/28/at_and_t/
AT&T spaffs $1.9bn on secondhand cell-phone spectrum  One
previous owner, hardly used, to cover 39 more US areas  By Bill
Ray  Posted in Mobile, 28th January 2013 17:56 GMT  AT&T wants
to give Verizon $1.9bn, and some lumps of regional radio
spectrum, in exchange for a decent chunk of 700MHz to add to its
growing portfolio of low-frequency cell-phone network goodness.
Assuming the deal gets FCC approval, by the middle of 2013 AT&T
will be able to cover another 39 regions with 700MHz LTE for
high-speed mobile broadband.  As part of the agreement, Verizon
will get AT&T spectrum covering five US regions and $1.9bn in
cash. There's also some complexity involving investment biz
Grain Management, which will buy a handful of radio licences
from AT&T and then lease them to Verizon, as US operators seek
to expand national coverage.  This follows last week's deal in
which AT&T spent $780m on spectrum owned by Alltel, along with
half a million subscribers