FCC to consider bids for T-Mobile and Qualcomm airwaves

The Federal Communications Commission said it would judge AT&T Inc.’s proposed purchase of airwaves from Qualcomm Inc. together with the carrier’s bid to acquire T- Mobile USA Inc.

The agency’s reviews are to be conducted “in a coordinated manner,” the FCC said in an Aug. 8 letter to AT&T and Qualcomm. The decision is “without prejudice to independent treatment at a later date,” the agency said.

AT&T in December agreed to pay $1.93 billion for airwaves covering 300 million people from chipmaker Qualcomm, which acquired the spectrum in federal auctions from 2003 through 2008 for a mobile-television service it has closed.

AT&T in March proposed buying Deutsche Telekom AG’s T- Mobile in a $39 billion deal that would join the second- and fourth-largest wireless carriers. The transaction needs approval from the FCC and the Justice Department.