Qualcomm announced that it has acquired eight licenses in the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s 700 MHz spectrum auction at a total cost of $558.1 million. Qualcomm purchased licenses in the E block covering the Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco Economic Area regions. These licenses double Qualcomm’s 700 MHz spectrum holdings throughout a footprint of more than 68 million people in 28 individual markets for MediaFLO USA’s award-winning FLO TV service (21 of its top 100 markets) at a cost of $554.6 million. In addition, Qualcomm purchased three licenses on the B block at a cost of $3.5 million.
Qualcomm’s E block licenses cover five of the nation’s top seven Economic Area regions. These regions consist of large contiguous areas on the East and West Coasts, stretching from New Hampshire to Maryland and from Orange County to Northern California, respectively.
“This investment in new spectrum underscores our commitment to continue to deliver the most innovative technologies to a growing wireless industry,” said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm. “Our strategic purchase of E block licenses will enhance our efforts in the mobile TV space and further MediaFLO USA’s mission to bring world-class mobile entertainment to American consumers.”
The new E block spectrum will give MediaFLO USA greater flexibility to deliver additional content and services in these top markets, building on the Channel 55 spectrum for which Qualcomm already owns licenses in these markets and throughout the rest of the country and the FLO TV service now available to more than 130 million people.
“We have defined the mobile TV experience nationwide with our FLO TV service, and the acquisition of additional spectrum in many of America’s largest cities provides us with the flexibility to take the mobile entertainment experience to the next level,” said Gina Lombardi, president of MediaFLO USA.
In addition, Qualcomm won the B block in the California-Imperial, New Jersey-Hunterdon and Yuba City, Calif. Cellular Market Areas. These licenses will provide Qualcomm with 12 MHz of paired 700 MHz spectrum near key Qualcomm offices to enable the Company’s research and development (R&D) teams to deploy their innovative mobile broadband technologies, thus enabling faster development and broader deployment of these solutions for Qualcomm’s customers and partners.
Spectrum License Details:
The E block licenses cover Allentown, Pa.; Atlantic City, N.J.; Bakersfield, Calif.; Boston; Bridgeport, Conn.; Cape Cod, Mass.; Dover, Del.; Hartford, Conn.; Long Island, N.Y.; Lancaster, Pa.; Los Angeles; Manchester, N.H.; Monterey, Calif.; Nashua, N.H.; New Haven, Conn.; Newark, N.J.; New York; Northeast and Northwest New Jersey; Oakland, Calif.; Orange County; Palm Springs, Calif.; Philadelphia; Pittsfield, Mass.; Pocono, Pa.; Pottsville, Pa.; Poughkeepsie, N.Y; Providence, R.I; San Francisco; San Joaquin Valley, Calif.; San Jose, Calif.; San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Santa Barbara, Calif.; Scranton, Pa.; Springfield, Conn..; Stamford, Conn.; Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Wilmington, Del.; Worcester, Mass.; and Yuma, Ariz.
The B block licenses cover three key locations near Qualcomm R&D offices in: Imperial County, Calif., near the Company’s headquarters in San Diego; Hunterdon County, New Jersey, near the Qualcomm Flarion office in Bedminster; and in Yuba City, Calif., near the Company’s offices in Northern California.
MediaFLO USA, Inc. unleashes the power of TV for mobile consumers, combining the best content, an intuitive user interface and a superior multicast network to deliver a true TV experience. The award-winning MediaFLO USA mobile entertainment service, called FLO TV, offers full-length simulcast and time-shifted programming from the world’s best entertainment brands, including CBS, CBS College Sports, CBS News, Comedy Central, ESPN, FOX, FOX News, FOX Sports, MTV, NBC, NBC Sports, NBC News, CNBC, MSNBC, NickToons and Nickelodeon. Based in San Diego, Calif., MediaFLO USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated. Further information is available at http://www.mediaflousa.com and http://www.flotv.com.