AT&T announced that it is int he process of buying discount flat-rate carrier Leap Wireless.
AT&T will pay $15 per share to own licenses, assets, retail stores and 5 million subscribers. The cost is estimated to be $1.2 billion. AT&T will keep the Cricket brand and low-cost services.
Leap network covers 35 states wi
th its Cricket brand operates 3G CDMA/4G LTE networks covering 21 million people. It employee 3,400 workers.
The acquisition includes spectrum in the PCS and AWS bands covering 137 million people and is largely complementary to AT&T’s existing spectrum licenses.
After the sale is approved, AT&T plans to use Leap’s unutilized spectrum – which covers 41 million people – for its 4G LTE deployment. It should supply additional capacity and enhanced network performance for AT&T's customers’ growing mobile Internet usage.
The transaction is subject to review by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice and should close in six to nine months.