AT&T Buys Chunk of Wireless Spectrum, May Skip Auction

As it prepares to meet its customers’ growing demands for wireless multimedia services, AT&T’s board of directors approved the acquisition of 700 MHz spectrum licenses from Aloha Partners. The purchase will cost the nation’s largest wireless carrier about $2.5 billion. The purchase will give AT&T licenses covering 196 million people in 281 markets, including 72 of the top 100, and all of the top 10, markets in the United States. It will add 12 MHz of spectrum to AT&T’s holdings.