AT&T Mobility acquires Aloha’s 700 MHz spectrum for $2.5B: MediaFLO deal unaffected

AT&T Mobility said it will pay $2.5 billion in cash for all of Aloha Partners L.P.’s 700 MHz spectrum, apparently signaling Aloha’s exit from the mobile broadcast space.
AT&T, which said it remains committed to using Qualcomm Inc.’s MediaFLO network for multimedia wireless broadcasts, said the deal gives it 12 megahertz of spectrum covering 196 million people in 281 markets. AT&T Mobility said the deal is expected to close in the next six to nine months.
Representatives from Aloha Partners were not available to comment on the deal.
Aloha Partners is currently trialing its HiWire DVB-H network in Las Vegas with partner T-Mobile USA Inc. HiWire was the remaining DVB-H player in the U.S. market following Crown Castle International Corp.’s decision to spin off its Modeo business in July, thereby exiting the mobile TV business.
HiWire faced stiff competition in the mobile TV space, however; Qualcomm’s MediaFLO business has signed mobile TV deals with Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility.
AT&T Mobility, meanwhile, said it has yet to decide how it will use the 700 MHz spectrum. Spokesman Michael Coe said the operator still plans to deploy mobile video services with MediaFLO, and may offer multimedia services to other carriers-just as Aloha had planned to do.
“We’ll use the spectrum either for broadcast mobile video or two-way voice and data services, but not both,” said Coe. “We’ll make that determination based on what’s best for our customers.”
AT&T has been on a buying spree in recent months; earlier this year the carrier announced an agreement to acquire Dobson Communications Corp. for $2.8 billion.
The news comes as AT&T and the rest of the wireless industry gear up for the 700 MHz spectrum auction, set to begin early next year. Up for grabs are around 1,000 licenses in the valuable 700 MHz band.