Cricket could pick up spectrum from AT&T

Cricket. They have new distribution deals to go along with their MVNO agreement with Sprint. It essentially allows them to activate lines nationwide, despite owning spectrum in limited markets. Now there is a report that they could gain even more coverage — and customers. Andrew Ross Sorkin of The New York Times reports that AT&T is talking to Cricket’s parent, Leap Wireless, about selling “a big piece of T-Mobile’s customer accounts and some of its wireless spectrum.” That could prove a further boon for a fast-growing company.   For those unfamiliar with the situation, in March AT&T announced plans to acquire T-Mobile USA. They knew they’d face scrutiny from regulatory bodies, but AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson still thought the deal would get done. His company was so certain of it, in fact, that they would pay T-Mobile $4 billion if the deal failed. Now AT&T has taken a $4 billion charge against its earnings, a precaution in case the deal does, in fact, blow up. Considering that AT&T withdrew its application for a deal from the FCC, there’s a legitimate chance of that happening.   According to Sorkin, the customer accounts would compose the bulk of the deal. It would be enough for Cricket to leapfrog MetroPCS and become the fourth largest wireless carrier in the country. The only question, then, is of whether Cricket can handle all the new accounts with their existing spectrum, plus the amount of spectrum they acquire in the deal. AT&T is trying to hold onto as much spectrum as possible, since it plans to use T-Mobile’s network to build out LTE services.   It is still unclear whether this play will work. The Justice Department would have to be satisfied enough to drop its lawsuit to block the deal. If not, the two parties will go to trial to determine the next step. This has been a long process that doesn’t have much of an end in sight. AT&T’s great desire to get this done, at seemingly any cost, will keep it going until every possible avenue is exhausted.   Via The New York Times.]]>