Leap Wireless shares soar after announcement

Last Thursday, Leap Wireless said it will not have to raise additional venture funding to deploy its new services using its recently won AWS spectrum licenses. Over the next two years the small carrier plans to harvest new markets with populations totaling 24 million. Bank of America analyst David Barden expects the carrier to build out, not necessarily launch, in 70 percent of the targeted areas by 2008, and the rest by 2009. Leap's stock shares rose 2 percent, as much as Google's during the rumor-period preceding the YouTube acquisition.

For more on Leap Wireless:
- see this article from BusinessWeek