AT&T makes $2.5B deal for 700 MHz spectrum

AT&T made a deal with Aloha Partners to buy 12 megahertz of 700 MHz spectrum covering 196 million people for $2.5 billion in cash. The spectrum covers 72 of the top 100 markets in the U.S. Aloha is the parent company of HiWire, a mobile TV company that had plans to launch a nationwide mobile TV service. HiWire had a trial with T-Mobile USA in Las Vegas. The price paid by AT&T for the Aloha bandwidth essentially sets a value of around $1 per megahertz, per pop. That is higher than the reserve price set by the FCC rules.

To read more about AT&T's 700 MHz spectrum purchase:
- take a look at this press release from the carrier
- check out this article from InformationWeek