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OLEAN, N.Y., April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Starting Thursday, April 19, Verizon Wireless customers in the Cattaraugus-Allegany area will be able to surf the Web, download large files, and share music and photos at speeds up to ten times faster than before with the company’s 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) high-speed data network. The new network will be available in the Olean, Amity, Angelica, Arcade, Bolivar, Cuba, Ellicottville, Franklinville, Friendship, Hinsdale, Killbuck, Machias, Napoli and Wellsville areas, and along portions of the I-86 and Route 219 corridors. Additional local cell sites will get the technology over the next several months, expanding and filling in coverage further. Full nationwide deployment of the company’s 4G LTE network is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2013.

In addition, the company has activated 28 new 4G LTE sites in the Buffalo area since January. 4G LTE launched in that market in October.

“Our 4G LTE network will change the way our customers in Western New York think about and use wireless technology,” said Russ Preite, president of Verizon Wireless‘ Upstate New York Region. “By bringing true fourth-generation wireless technology to the area, we continue to lead the way with 4G LTE by giving our local consumer and business customers the ability to enjoy a much more powerful and robust wireless data experience. That will translate into greater productivity, expanded business opportunities, and exciting new entertainment options.”

Verizon Wireless is introducing its 4G LTE network in a total of 27 new markets and expanding the network in 44 markets across the United States on April 19. With the new and expanded markets, the company’s 4G LTE network will be available to two-thirds of the U.S. population in 230 markets. 

In real-world, fully-loaded network environments, Verizon Wireless customers will be able to use their 4G LTE smartphones, tablets, notebooks, laptop modems and mobile hotspots to experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink – perfect for surfing the Web, streaming video, and downloading large files wirelessly.

When customers travel outside of a 4G LTE coverage area, 4G LTE devices automatically connect to Verizon Wireless’ 3G network, where available, enabling customers to stay connected from coast to coast.  Verizon Wireless’ 3G network is the most reliable high-speed data network in the country and allows customers in 3G coverage areas who purchase 4G LTE devices today to take advantage of 4G LTE speeds when the faster network becomes available in their area, or when they travel to areas already covered by 4G LTE. 

Visit www.verizonwireless.com/lte for more information about Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network. 

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves nearly 108 million total wireless connections, including 92.2 million retail customers.  Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with nearly 82,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD).  For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

Nearly 400 people crammed into an auditorium at the Chinese 6 Theatres in the Hollywood Highland shopping center to watch “One Day on Earth,” a documentary made by thousands of volunteer filmmakers around the world to promote awareness about climate change and other global issues.

The sold-out screening Sunday afternoon was organized not by the theater or a major studio, but by filmmakers who promoted the movie to their fans through a new service called Tugg Inc. The Austin, Texas, start-up has launched a grass-roots movie distribution business that enables consumers to select the movies they want to see at local theaters.

Since its formal launch last month, Tugg has formed partnerships with several major theater circuits, including AMC, Regal, Cinemark and Rave Cinemas. It has hosted more than 50 “Tugg events” nationwide, filling auditoriums with specialty films — movies like Fox Searchlight’s “The Tree of Life” and the Stanley Kubrick classic “Dr. Strangelove” and documentaries such as “One Day on Earth” and Morgan Spurlock’s “Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope.”

“In the past, movie theaters have been forced to be somewhat narrow in their programming,” said Nicolas Gonda, chief executive and co-founder of Tugg. “Now, with Tugg, they can be as diverse as the interests and the imaginations of the people in their communities.”

As more theaters convert from film to digital, there is growing interest in using services like Tugg to program so-called alternative content and attract new customers to the multiplex at a time when long-term attendance in the U.S. has been on the decline, in part because consumers have more entertainment options.

The subject of how theaters can marshal the forces of social media to grow their business will be a hot topic this week at CinemaCon, the annual trade show in Las Vegas hosted by the National Assn. of Theatre Owners. Tugg will be among the participants at a panel discussion Thursday called Social Networking and Marketing in the Digital Age.

“It really seems like they have an innovative platform to reach people through social media in a way that we haven’t done before as exhibitors,” said Spencer Klein, senior vice president for alternative content at Rave and Bow Tie Cinemas.

Klein said was he particularly surprised when a group of architecture students at the University of Pennsylvania organized a sold-out Thursday night screening of “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth,” a new and relatively unknown documentary about the decline of American cities.

“It was pretty eye-opening,” he said.

AMC has hosted Tugg events in cities across the country, including one in Austin for a film called “Crazy Wisdom” about the Buddhist leader Chogyam Trungpa, which was organized by the Austin Shambhala Meditation Center. The tickets were sold out within a few hours and AMC had to move to a larger auditorium for the screening, held at 10 a.m. on a Thursday.

“It showed that there are guests out there who want to see some of this content that is not accessible through normal channels and who will mobilize if given the opportunity,” said Robert Lenihan, president of programming for AMC Theatres.

Each Tugg event is promoted by an “organizer” — which can be anyone, including a director, film blogger, film festival director, schoolteacher, church group leader or environmental activist — who chooses a film he or she would like to see in the local community. The organizers draw from a list of more than 300 titles on Tugg’s website, which includes independent, foreign and specialty films as well as repertory titles.

The organizer selects a local theater, locks in a date and then aggressively promotes the event using Facebook, Twitter or other social media. If people reserve enough tickets — a screening typically requires a minimum of 50 advance ticket purchases —- Tugg then books the film in one of the theaters that have signed up for its service.

Because tickets are purchased in advance, theater owners have a guarantee that they won’t be left holding the bag if no one shows up to see the film.

“It eliminates a huge question mark” for theater owners, said Gonda, whose company receives a fee for each ticket sold.

A film producer, Gonda got the idea for Tugg several years ago while working with filmmakers Steven Soderbergh and Terrence Malick. Gonda grew frustrated that many small communities around the country never had an opportunity to watch Malick’s “The New World” or “The Tree of Life” in their local theaters. Malick is among a group of advisors to Tugg, along with Ben Affleck and writer-director Richard Linklater, who serve on the company’s board.

“The genesis was asking the question: What is keeping films that people want to see in their local theaters from being seen in their local theaters?” Gonda said.

Tugg holds particular appeal in smaller, regional markets where it has become harder to screen independent or special films in theaters in recent years.

Spencer Howard, a 25-year-old college student who writes a movie blog in Columbus, Ga., is organizing a Tugg screening this Thursday of “Comic-Con Episode IV.” He posted a notice on his Facebook page encouraging people to reserve seats and handed out fliers at a local bookstore. Within a few days he had sold 57 tickets. He expects to have a nearly full house for the screening at a Carmike theater in Columbus.

“The feedback I’ve gotten is that people are delighted because they feel like they are part of creating this event,” said Howard, who already is organizing his next Tugg screening — for “Rocky” and a Spanish sci-fi movie. “The attitude is, ‘We don’t get anything cool here.’ By doing an event like this we can prove that wrong.”

richard.verrier@latimes.com

Since 2009, ATT has invested over 50 million dollars in its
South Dakota networks. Now, the mobile internet provider is
pushing a new campaign to prevent texting and driving, as well as
continuing to expand service in the state.

“It all boils down to really two things: coverage and speed,”
said Hardmon Williams, Vice President of the Northern Plains
ATT.

That’s what officials with ATT wanted to increase by
converting Alltel’s old network, and adding 16 new towers across
the state.  In part, to speed up service for customers.

“If you think about a highway for example, as it gets congested,
if you add a lane to the highway it allows cars to access it
faster and to travel faster as it’s on that highway. It’s the
same for our towers,” said Williams.

Plus, customers in several communities now get 4-G service.
According to state lawmakers, that type of technology can even
spur growth.

“We need to be at the forefront of technology. If we get kicked
to the dust bin in technology, we’re going to fall behind on
economic development, healthcare and education. So, it’s an
integral part of what we’re trying to do,” said State
Representative David Lust.

But ATT has another message, one of responsibility, which is
why the company has given a $5,000 grant to the South Dakota
Safety Council. In order to prevent texting and driving in young
people. Part of the “It Can Wait” campaign.

“‘It Can Wait’ basically has an important message of: 
texting, don’t text and drive. It’s a really important message to
get through to young South Dakota drivers,” said Cheryl Riley,
External Affairs Director for South Dakota ATT.

“Teenagers are new drivers to the road. It’s important for them
to be focused on the road when they are doing that driving, and
any distraction whether that be texting, talking on their phone,
punching things into their iPhone, listening to their iPod,
fiddling with their radio, or just messing around with other
teens in their car, other people.  I think it’s important
that we gave them every opportunity to focus on the job they need
to be doing and doing well which is driving safely,” said Colonel
Craig Price, Superintendent of the South Dakota Highway Patrol.

Trying to keep the dangers of texting and driving off of the
roadway, while expanding coverage to the community. The 4G
coverage is being provided in Rapid City and Sioux Falls along
with other western portions of the state.

The iPhone is a hot seller, but that doesn’t mean it’s a growth driver for the industry.

(Credit:
CNET)

ATT remains the king of the
iPhone, but that distinction means less with each passing quarter.

The Dallas telecommunications giant sold 4.3 million iPhones in the first quarter, more than 1 million more than Verizon Wireless, and almost certainly more than Sprint Nextel, which sold 1.8 million in the fourth quarter at the height of the iPhone 4S buzz.

So why did ATT only add a fraction of the contract customers that Verizon nabbed in the same period?

The results highlight an increasingly alarming trend with the wireless carriers: the decreasing benefit that the iPhone brings to customer growth. With the iPhone on virtually every carrier in the country — including small regional ones — it no longer has the cachet of being a hard-to-get exclusive device. Instead, it’s become the minimal offering every carrier needs just to compete, a disturbing turn considering the high cost of its subsidy.

“Most iPhone sales go to existing subscribers, so it isn’t a good proxy for growth,” said Craig Moffett, an analyst for Sanford Bernstein.

In fact, despite selling more iPhones in the period, ATT actually added fewer new customers than Verizon. Kevin Smithen, an analyst at Macquarie Securities, estimated that Verizon added 2.5 million new iPhone subscribers in the period, while ATT just added 903,000 (ATT said it’s closer to 1 million).

“We view margins as unsustainable and (expect) share losses to Verizon to accelerate,” Smithen said in a research note today.

In total, ATT added a net 187,000 postpaid subscribers, or customers willing to sign a two-year contract in exchange for a subsidized device. But Apple’s other product may have actually contributed more to growth, with 180,000 net new
tablets sold in the period. Apple’s new
iPad launched on ATT in March.

Apple iPad (March 2012, 16GB, Wi-Fi, black) (photos)

In comparison, Verizon added 501,000 postpaid subscribers in the same period.

That’s despite the fact that ATT has all three models of the iPhone available, including the 99-cent iPhone 3GS.

Much of ATT’s growth may have come from 180,000 net new tablets sold in the period — a vast majority of which likely came from the new iPad.

The minimal growth from the iPhone is why ATT is pushing so hard to diversify its product portfolio. Last year, the company tried to go aggressive with Android, but its customers continued to snap up iPhones. It recently embarked on a massive campaign with Nokia and Microsoft to push the Lumia 900 as its newest flagship product, and early response has been positive.

But in the first quarter, sales largely came from the iPhone. The 4.3 million iPhones represented a bulk of the 5.5 million total smartphones sold, which the company notes is a record for the period.

Verizon has actually been able to diversify its sales a bit more largely due to the work that it previously did to build up its own Droid franchise. Even when ATT had the exclusive lock on the iPhone, Verizon was able to weather the storm by offering up a strong lineup of Android devices.

ATT actually reported decent financial results in the first quarter, showing revenue growth and higher profitability. Much of that profitability came as a result of fewer iPhone upgrades, analysts noted.

ATT executives struck an optimistic tone on the conference call, highlighting a 20 percent jump in mobile data revenue and strong smartphone sales.

“Smartphone sales set a new record despite more iPhone competition,” said Ralph de la Vega, head of the company’s mobile business.

And while the iPhone isn’t bringing in as many new customers anymore, it is helping to retain existing ones. The turnover rate for iPhone customers was at the lowest point in more than a year, De la Vega noted. That’s largely because many of its customers are on family or business plans.

Those financial benefits are the ones that the iPhone have long promised, and ATT is starting to see them. But those benefits are tarnished in part by concerns that the company may not be able to keep the flow of new customers coming in.

While Verizon showed the ability to keep adding new customers, analysts note that it too is starting to feel the effects of slower growth, something the other carriers will likely see as well.

“We think this will be a common theme for the industry this quarter,” said Jonathan Chaplin, an analyst at Credit Suisse.

It’s unclear what the next catalyst for growth will be for the wireless industry, perhaps different data plans, connected devices, or some other new venture. But with the iPhone available nearly everywhere, it probably won’t be it.

ZestCash, an online lending service for lower-income borrowers, has begun using a new big data-driven decision-making method that it claims will allow it to lend to 25 percent more people and improve repayment rates by 20 percent.

Using the new framework, ZestCash obtains data on loan applicants from alternative creditors, such as cell phone carriers and payday lenders. It bundles the bits of information into likely relationships and runs it through a number of different models to ensure more robust results. It then recombines the results to determine how risky a given applicant is, determining whether to lend to that person, how much and at what rate.

Shawn Budde, the company’s chief operating officer and former head of subprime credit cards at U.S. bank Capital One, described the new model as a sea change.

More accurate predictions about who will repay loans will allow ZestCash to be able to lend to more people, the company said, including some who may have been forced to resort to payday loans simply because the conventional model couldn’t obtain enough information about them.

Few have found ways to innovate the FICO credit scoring method by which most major creditors determine who is likely to repay a loan, Budde said. As a result, lenders usually delight in boosting lending and repayment rates by single digits.

“We’ve seen incremental improvements in how underwriting is done, but really the fundamental underpinnings of how credit models work are roughly 40 years old,” Budde said.

Budde and co-founder Douglas Merrill believe their company’s updated decision-making process, called Hollerith (“after a long-dead statistician,” Budde said) will be the wave of the next 40 years.

Budde and Merrill, a former chief information officer at Google, see themselves as bringing big data to the lending industry.

“All that math, which is really cool, hasn’t been applied to the credit space by anybody else up to this point,” Budde said.

But for now, ZestCash hopes to use Hollerith to help keep more lower-income Americans from getting trapped in the vicious cycle of debt payday loans can facilitate.

How does ZestCash stack up to payday lenders? A typical loan through ZestCash, according to its website, comes with an effective annual percentage rate of 330 percent. The average payday loan’s effective APR is 400 percent, according to the Center for Responsible Lending.

ZestCash also says that by charging interest rates instead of loan rollover fees like many payday lenders, it encourages its borrowers to get out of debt.

The company is currently licensed to lend in just five states, but the company’s co-founders say they expect to continue to expand as they clear regulatory hurdles.

Cameron Scott covers search, web services and privacy for The IDG News Service. Follow Cameron on Twitter at CScott_IDG.

NEW YORK, NY —
PennyStocksProfile.com, a leader in small-cap alerts, announces today four stocks to watch closely: Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MSI), GlaxoSmithKline Plc (NYSE: GSK), Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S), and US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC).

Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MSI) said this morning that its first-quarter net income declined from a year ago when the company recorded a large tax-related gain. MSI could see significant trading action today.

Read the report on Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MSI): http://www.pennystocksprofile.com/reports/mot

GlaxoSmithKline Plc (NYSE: GSK) is down almost $2 in pre-market trading after the company reported a 13 percent drop in first-quarter net profit. GSK could see some more downside today.

Read the report on GlaxoSmithKline Plc (NYSE: GSK) http://www.pennystocksprofile.com/reports/gsk

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) saw its share rose 9 percent in pre-market trading today. The company is seeing increase its network user with an added 263,000 new subscribers. Sprint beat expectation because its quarterly loss was small then predicted.

Read the report on Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S): http://www.pennystocksprofile.com/reports/s

US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC) is reporting a first-quarter profit of $48 million because of one-time items. Revenue rose 10 percent. LCC could see significant bullish activity today.

Read the report on US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC):

http://www.pennystocksprofile.com/reports/lcc

PennyStocksprofile.com focus on bringing only the best small-cap companies to its members.We alerted our members stocks right before it moved up over 100%. With combined 30 years of experience, our expertise in the market yielded tremendous profits for our members with our 5 last picks jumping over 200%.

To learn more about the companies above and to receive timely stock alerts visit us at : http://www.pennystocksprofile.com

This report is for information purposes only, and is neither a solicitation to buy nor an offer to sell securities. Information, opinions and analysis contained herein are based on sources deemed to be reliable and are subject to change without notice. A third party has hired and paid IO NewsWire one thousand two hundred and ninety five dollars for the publication and circulation of this news release. Accordingly, certain information included herein may be forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. However, no representation, expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, completeness or correctness. In light of the above, we accept no liability for any losses arising from an investor’s reliance on or use of this report. We do not and have not had any ownership interest in said third party of any kind.

© Marketwire 2012

Big earnings reports lifted stock futures to early gains in Wednesday’s premarket trade. But futures eased from highs after disappointing March durable goods data.

Nasdaq futures were up 50.5 points. Dow futures kept a 28-point gain and SP 500 futures were up 8.1 points.

Durable goods orders slumped 4.1% in March, down from a 2.2% gain in February and below expectations for a 1.5% decline. Minus transportation, orders slipped 1.1% vs. February’s 1.6% gain and views for a 0.4% advance.

Apple (AAPL) soared 8%, topping the $600 mark in premarket action, after reporting late Tuesday its Q1 EPS leapt 82%, to $12.80. Revenue swept up 52% to $39.2 billion. Both numbers trounced analyst consensus expectations. Management gave second-quarter sales and earnings guidance below analyst forecasts. The performance outpaced general computer and smartphone markets, with iPad sales up 151%, iPhone sales 88% higher and Macintosh sales ahead 7%. But iPod sales declined 15%.

Selling was moderate as the stock cut its 50-day moving average Monday. It ended Tuesday 31% above a 427.85 buy point after clearing a cup-with-handle base in January.

Sprint Nextel (S) vaulted 11% after its Q1 loss of 28 cents bested analyst consensus views by 13 cents. Revenue rose 5%, ticking past forecasts to $8.73 billion. Wireless services revenue gained 7%, to $7.2 billion as the company reported 1.1 million net new customers during the quarter. The company sold 1.5 million iPhones.

Boeing (BA) climbed 2% as sales of commercial aircraft lifted its adjusted first-quarter earnings 42% to $1.11 a share, well beyond consensus views of 94 cents. Revenue climbed 30% to $19.38 billion vs. analyst forecasts for $18.45 billion. New orders totaling $42 billion drove the backlog to a record $300 billion. Orders for commercial aircraft rose 54%, while defense orders lagged, up 8%.

The Chicago-based aerospace leader raised its full-year EPS projection to between $4.15 and $4.35, up from prior guidance of $4.05 to $4.25.

Vitamin chain GNC Holdings (GNC) popped 8% after reporting a 76% jump in Q1 EPS to 60 cents vs. views for 52 cents. A 23% gain in revenue to $624.3 million also easily topped forecasts. The company lifted its full-year guidance to $2.05, up from $1.82 and well above consensus views.

The stock has been rebounding in light trade from 10-week support.

Overseas, Asia’s markets closed narrowly mixed. The region’s strongest gain came from Tokyo’s Nikkei 225, which closed 1% higher, buoyed by Apple’s strong results.

Markets in Germany and France held solid gains in early afternoon trade, with Frankfurt’s DAX ahead 1.3% and the CAC-40 in Paris up 1.8%. London’s FTSE 100 pared its early gains and was fractionally higher, after first-quarter GDP data showed the country had officially slipped back into recession.

Crude futures traded relatively steady, near $104 a barrel, ahead of oil inventories data due out at 10 a.m. EDT. Gold was flat near $1,640 an ounce.

Thu Apr 26, 2012 6:31am EDT

* Q1 EPS $0.06 vs est $0.17

* Q1 revenue $1.27 bln vs est $1.29 bln

April 26 (Reuters) – Wireless operator MetroPCS
Communications Inc posted a lower-than-expected first
quarter as it incurred higher costs on subsidizing consumer
upgrades of handsets and added fewer subscribers than analysts
expected.

Bigger operators like Sprint Nextel Corp and Deutsche
Telekom AG’s T-Mobile USA have entered the low-cost
phone markets, forcing smaller companies like MetroPCS and Leap
Wireless International Inc to shift towards smartphones
which require additional spectrum.

The steady growth of Carlos Slim’s cellphone giant America
Movil’s Tracfone Straight Talk plans is also giving
MetroPCS greater competition in its core markets.

In February, Sprint Nextel’s board vetoed a multibillion
dollar purchase of MetroPCS at the last minute due to concerns
that the timing was wrong for a deal.

Net income for the wireless operator more than halved to $21
million for the quarter ended March 31, or 6 cents per share,
from $56 million, or 15 cents per share, a year ago.

MetroPCS added 131,654 new subscribers to end the quarter
with 9.4 million subscribers.

Five analysts contacted by Reuters had expected it to add
between 236,000 and 400,000 customers.

Customer defection rate – also known as churn – remained
flat at 3.1 percent.

Revenue for the quarter rose 7 percent to $1.27 billion.

Analysts, on average, were looking for earnings of 17 cents
per share on revenue of $1.29 billion, according to Thomson
Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the company have lost more than one-third of their
value since Sprint backed out of its acquisition bid in
February. They closed at $7.94 on Wednesday on the New York
Stock Exchange.

The Federal Communications Commission this week approved the transfer of spectrum from ATT to T-Mobile, which was a condition of the companies’ failed merger.

The move will provide T-Mobile with Advanced Wireless Systems (AWS) spectrum in 128 cellular markets, including 12 of the top 20, T-Mobile said in a statement.

“We applaud the FCC for acting swiftly to approve the transfer of these spectrum licenses,” said Neville Ray, chief technology officer for T-Mobile USA. “Securing this additional spectrum was a key catalyst for our plans to launch LTE in 2013 and is therefore good news for our customers.”

In February, T-Mobile announced plans to roll out its 4G LTE network next year, thanks in large part to the spectrum and money it would receive from the ATT breakup deal.

In preparation for the LTE launch, T-Mobile plans to install new equipment at 37,000 cell sites and refarm spectrum. Still, “T-Mobile continues to need more AWS spectrum to support its 4G evolution efforts and the continued growth in mobile data services,” the carrier said today.

The allocation of spectrum has been a hot-button issues for carriers and lawmakers alike in recent years. As more and more people start using data-intensive gadgets like smartphones and tablets, they cut into the available bandwidth. How best to find and dole out available spectrum, however, has been a contentious subject. Should the FCC handle it through auctions? Should the commission be able to restrict larger companies from snapping up the best spectrum? Should broadcasters sell unused spectrum to wireless carriers?

Congress recently approved a plan that would allow the FCC to auction off broadcast spectrum to wireless carriers. Today, meanwhile, the House Energy and Commerce Committee announced plans for a Federal Spectrum Working Group, which will examine how the federal government can more efficiently use the airwaves it owns.

ATT applauded the move. “The growth of the mobile Internet continues to spur phenomenal economic activity and inspire remarkable consumer benefits,” said Tim McKone, ATT executive vice president of federal relations. “Comprehensive and sound spectrum policies lie at the heart of the ability of the entire wireless ecosystem – from app developers to software providers, to device makers and service providers – to satisfy the booming demand for wireless services.”

During an earnings call this week, ATT Mobility chief Ralph de la Vega also stressed the need for more spectrum. When asked if ATT would snap up some of the spectrum Verizon is trying to sell, however, de la Vegas said it’s not “appropriate for us to speculate what would happen with the Verizon spectrum.”

Verizon said recently that it will sell some prime spectrum in the 700-MHz band provided the FCC approve its controversial $3.6 billion effort to purchase spectrum from various cable companies.

For more, see Congressman Boucher Talks Spectrum, Casts Wary Eye on FCC.

For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.

For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at @PCMag.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – ATT Inc, the No. 2 U.S. mobile service provider, has received regulatory approval for its plan to give T-Mobile USA a big chunk of spectrum as part of its break-up offering in compensation for the failure of their efforts to merge.
ATT was left with an obligation to give wireless air waves and $3 billion cash to Deutsche Telekom AG unit T-Mobile USA after ATT’s $39 billion plan to buy its smaller rival failed late last year due to strong regulatory opposition.
The Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday that it approved of ATT’s transfer of spectrum to T-Mobile USA, the No. 4 U.S. mobile service provider.
T-Mobile USA plans to use the spectrum to help it upgrade its network for higher-speed data services. T-Mobile USA has committed to spend $4 billion on improving its network and deploying new technology in 2013.
(Reporting By Sinead Carew; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

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