Verizon scores another huge victory in the race to release 5G networks
Over the last few months, we’ve heard quite a bit about the arrival of 5G networks through our various favorite carriers. Verizon was likely the first to move in the direction of 5G, and Big Red has scored a huge victory over the likes of AT&T.
Last month, AT&T announced plans to purchase a company by the name of Straight Path Communications for a hefty $1.6 billion. The reason this purchase was so important is because SPC owns much of the spectrum needed for 5G network capabilities, and would help AT&T in the race against Verizon, T-Mobile, and now Sprint.
However, Verizon decided it wanted to turn this acquisition into a bidding war, and a new report claims that Verizon won the battle. According to The Wall Street Journal, Verizon is slated to purchase SPC for a cool $3.1 billion, after AT&T declined to match the offer.
Since AT&T and Straight Path already came to an agreement last month, AT&T will be paid a termination fee of $38 million by Verizon. So all-in-all, AT&T came out in the green here, but this is a huge step in the wrong direction as carriers rush to implement.
All of this comes after Sprint announced its new partnership with Qualcomm and Soft Bank to get 5G to its customers by the end of 2019. It seems that while we’re a few years away from seeing 5G, the race is definitely underway.