In a setback for AT&T, the Federal Communications Commission announced Monday that it will look at the company’s purchase of spectrum from Qualcomm in the context of the proposed merger with T-Mobile USA.
AT&T’s proposal to buy $1.9 billion of Qualcomm spectrum, announced last year, predates the merger proposal and has been under FCC review for around 180 days, the informal time limit for such reviews.
The FCC said in a letter Monday to AT&T and Qualcomm that it has stopped its “shot clock” for the spectrum purchase and plans to examine the Qualcomm transaction side-by-side with the review of AT&T’s mega-merger with T-Mobile, which could go well into next year.
In letter signed by FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Rick Kaplan, the commission raised concern about AT&T buying up airwaves all over the country.
Full story: FCC stops ‘shot clock’ on major AT&T spectrum buy