AT&T (NYSE: T) wanted wireless spectrum in the 700 megahertz band auction “that was unencumbered by heavy regulation (read: open access requirements)”, as they were a better fit with the company’s existing spectrum holdings, reports AP. The company’s wireless unit’s chief executive Ralph de la Vega told reporters and analysts in a conference call that the country’s largest mobile network avoided the “C Block” because of the additional regulatory requirements placed on it. AT&T, instead, spent $6.64 billion for licenses in the auction’s “B Block.”

But AT&T does have a piece of the coveted C block—and indeed, is unfettered by any open access requirements. Just before the auction, AT&T paid $2.5 billion for Aloha Partners, which owned a portion of the C Block spectrum. AT&T’s recent win, plus its existing spectrum holdings, gives it 100 percent coverage in the “top 200 US markets,”—more than 87 percent of the country’s population. De la Vega said AT&T would use the spectrum to make existing broadband services quicker and less expensive. It will also look into developing new products with newer technologies, such as offering streaming high definition video—but such services are still several years away (release).

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