AT&T finally completed Alltel acquisition Friday, and it has been approved by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), despite concerns over local competition.
AT&T, America's leading wireless network carrier, announced Friday that it has closed the $780 million acquisition deal of Atlantic Tele-Network Inc., a wireless phone network that operates under the Alltel brand. With the latest deal, AT&T will oversee wireless properties in six states, including spectrum licenses, network assets, retail stores and approximately 590,000 subscribers.
Alltel covers nearly 4.5 million people, mostly in rural areas in Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio and South Carolina. AT&T revealed that it would acquire the network earlier this year but was awaiting a response from FCC, "the proposed transaction will likely cause some competitive and other public interest harms in several local markets."
However, FCC has approved AT&T's proposal to acquire Alltel that will result in "public interest benefits".
AT&T said that it will start upgrading all former Alltel users with its plans and move them from the old network by mid next year. It will also start rolling out its expanding 4G LTE service in former Alltel areas by late 2014.
AT&T will release its third-quarter results later next month and expects to show growth in its smartphone base by 1 million in the quarter, with "higher upgrade expectations for the third quarter and the new 24-month upgrade policy."
"AT&T said it is exploring opportunities to monetize some or all of its remaining wireless tower assets. Any potential transaction is dependent on achieving the appropriate long-term operating terms and conditions to enable the company to maintain its leadership in wireless network quality and capabilities," according to the press release.
