The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau today approved the transfer from McBride Spectrum Partners LLC to Hardy Cellular Telephone Company, a subsidiary of United States Cellular Corp., of a lower 700 megahertz band A-block license covering all or parts of three cellular market areas (CMAs) in West Virginia. The bureau employed its “enhanced factor” review when a transaction would result in a carrier holding more than one-third of sub-1 gigahertz band spectrum in a market.

“After carefully evaluating the likely competitive effects of USCC’s increased aggregation of below-1-GHz spectrum in these local market areas, as well as the other factors ordinarily considered in a case-by-case review, we find that the likelihood of competitive harm is low,” the bureau said in the order in WT docket 14-240. “Further, we find some public interest benefits are likely, such as the deployment of a competitive LTE network and improved throughput.”

Courtesy TR Daily