Verizon AWS spectrum buy now under the eye of the Senate
updated 04:25 pm EST, Wed February 1, 2012
Senate to hold hearing on Verizon spectrum buy
Verizon's $3.6 billion purchase of AWS spectrum is now also attracting the attention of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee. A hearing will likely occur sometime in March, a staffer revealed, though who will be called to testify hasn't yet been shared. Rivals, such as Sprint, are calling for other elements of the contract to be scrutinized due to fears that the deal will result in an unfair advantage for Verizon.
Verizon has also made a similar deal with Cox Communications, though it's worth a much less significant $315 million.
The Senate subcommittee aims to protect customers and will look into whether the deals will hurt competition in the mobile video market.
Verizon, along with AT&T, argue that they need more wireless spectrum in order to ensure it was enough bandwidth to service its subscribers, who are increasing the amount of data they are using over their wireless network.
