AT&T has announced its intent to acquire Straight Path Communications, which holds a nationwide portfolio of millimetre wave spectrum, for a total transaction value of $1.6 billion.
The deal complements AT&T’s January acquisition of FiberTower and augments the company’s holdings of mmWave spectrum, with the Straight Path portfolio including 39 GHz and 28 GHz licenses. The acquisition will support AT&T’s leadership in 5G, which will accelerate the delivery of new experiences for consumers and businesses like virtual and augmented reality, telemedicine, autonomous cars, smart cities and more.
The International Telecommunications Union has said theoretical peak speeds for standards-based 5G in the mmWave band can eventually reach up to 10 Gbps in the uplink and up to 20 Gbps in the downlink. In October 2016, AT&T and Ericsson conducted the first known demonstration of 5G, illustrating the possibilities of mmWave radio access technology for the networks of the future. And in February 2017, AT&T and Nokia reached a critical milestone, delivering DIRECTV NOW over a fixed wireless 5G connection using 39 GHZ mmWave technology.
This is by no means the only agreement the telecom giant has signed in recent weeks. AT&T sealed an agreement with IDA Ireland and Dublin City Council last month to cooperate and exchange information around smart cities solutions, while also entering into a long-term partnership with members of Bridge Alliance to extend their global connected car leadership to new territories. The company also entered into an agreement that month with Avnet to support designers in the development and production of next-generation Internet of Things (IoT) devices with global cellular connection. The agreement allows Avnet to seamlessly integrate AT&T’s cloud application development which is supported by flagship platforms AT&T M2X and AT&T Flow Designer.
