National cellular giant T-Mobile buys access to Alaska airwaves
Cell phone giant T-Mobile bought wireless spectrum space in Alaska’s airwaves during a recent Federal Communications Commission auction.
AWS Wireless Inc., formerly known as NextWave, also bought space in the Anchorage spectrum.
The buys were from an auction of the nation’s advanced wireless services spectrum, which closed Sept. 18 and raised more than $13 billion nationwide.
With a total of nearly $4.2 billion, T-Mobile was the high bidder on 120 licenses covering areas in Alaska and Anchorage, as well as the Lower 48, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company also purchased space in the major markets of New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.
T-Mobile spent $1.1 million to buy into the Anchorage market. The company also spent $894.6 million for airwaves covering the Western United States.
T-Mobile USA, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, said in a written release that the company couldn’t comment on potential uses of the new airwaves due to FCC restrictions imposing a quiet period.
Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile operates the largest carrier-grade, commercial wireless broadband network in the United States.
AWS Wireless, a privately owned company that offers Wi-Max services, spent $1.8 million for airwaves in the Anchorage market.
Another big spender for Alaska air was American Cellular Corp., which operates in partnership with Dobson Communications, offering wireless services under the Cellular One trademark.
American Cellular purchased two licenses for the Alaska market, for a total of nearly $2.2 million.
MTA Communications, based in the Matanuska Valley, also purchased space in the Alaska market, spending $1.2 million. MTA also spent $539,000 for a license in the Anchorage area, and $525,000 for space in Bethel.
Space Data Spectrum Holdings, which focuses on air-to-ground communications, spent $733,000 for airwaves over the village of Wade Hampton. The city of Ketchikan purchased a $157,000 license for Haines airwaves.
In the same auction, Fairbanks-based Denali Spectrum LLC and partner Leap Wireless International Inc. were high bidders on 100 licenses for a total of $984 million. Denali Spectrum is a subsidiary of Doyon Limited, an Alaska Native regional corporation covering the Interior. Leap, based in San Diego, owns an 82.5 percent non-controlling interest in Denali.
Most of the bids were made under Leap subsidiary Cricket Licensee Inc., which acquired 99 licenses, for a total of $710 million, that include the cities of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Seattle and Las Vegas, among others. Denali Spectrum received a license for $274 million in areas that include Chicago, Minneapolis and Milwaukee.
Source- http://www.alaskajournal.com
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