AT&T Mobility and Stelera Wireless have filed paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission seeking consent to transfer spectrum licenses from Stelera to AT&T.
According to the FCC, Stelera acquired the licenses in 2006 at auction but later filed for bankruptcy. AT&T believes the transfer is in the public interest because it will put the spectrum to use to bolster its LTE 4G network. If approved, AT&T will gain 10 to 20MHz of AWS-1 A Block spectrum from Stelera in 55 counties in nine Cellular Market Areas across parts of Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. If the deal goes through, AT&T will hold a total of 56 to 180MHz of spectrum in the CMAs involved, including 20 to 50MHz of AWS-1 spectrum.
No dollar value was placed on the spectrum transfer. Verizon Wireless filed a similar request with the FCC regarding Stelera’s other spectrum licenses last year.
