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Verizon appears to have won its bidding war with AT&T for Straight Path Communications after offering $3.1 billion.<\/p>\n
AT&T announced last month that it had agreed to buy Straight Path for $1.6 billion<\/a>, but after Verizon placed a bid for nearly double\u00a0that amount on Monday, AT&T declined to match it, reports the Wall Street Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n The telecoms are interested in Straight Path because the Virginia-based company holds valuable spectrum licenses that will play an important role in laying the groundwork for 5G services. Straight Path began reviewing \u201cstrategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value\u201d<\/a> (i.e. searching for a buyer) in January after it was fined $100 million by the Federal Communications Commission<\/a> for failing to deploy the wireless services required by its spectrum licenses, a practice called \u201cspectrum squatting.\u201d<\/p>\n When AT&T announced its agreement to acquire Straight Path last month, it said the acquisition would help it create a 5G network capable of supporting \u201cbusinesses like virtual and augmented reality, telemedicine, autonomous cars, smart cities and more.\u201d Now it appears Verizon may be getting that advantage instead.<\/p>\n Both AT&T and Verizon have already made other acquisitions to prepare for 5G. In February, AT&T quietly purchased FiberTower<\/a>, which also holds key spectrum rights, while Verizon agreed to pay $1.8 billion for XO Communications\u2019 fiber-optic network business<\/a>.<\/p>\n Verizon had also reportedly been trying to buy Charter Communications<\/a>, but Charter\u2019s deal to work on wireless infrastructure with Comcast, which was announced earlier this week, means that plan may be scuppered<\/a>.<\/p>\n TechCrunch has contacted Verizon and Straight Path for more information.<\/p>\n Disclosure: TechCrunch is owned by AOL, which is in turn owned by Verizon.<\/em><\/p>\n Featured Image: David Ramos\/Getty Images<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/03\/gettyimages-645846618.jpg?w=680\")
Verizon appears to have won its bidding war with AT&T for Straight Path Communications after offering $3.1 billion. AT&T announced last month that it had agreed to buy Straight Path for $1.6 billion, but after Verizon placed a bid for nearly double that amount on Monday, AT&T declined to match it, reports the Wall Street Journal. Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/img><\/a>
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