American telecom operator AT&T, which completed the acquisition of prepaid wireless provider Leap Wireless International, said the new Cricket will shake up the no-contract segment.
AT&T paid $15 per share in cash to acquire Leap’s stock and wireless properties, including licenses, network assets, retail stores and subscribers.
The new Cricket, which will be integrated with AT&T’s operations, will offer low-cost rate plans; new smartphones; and better network experience.
The new Cricket will have access to AT&T’s nationwide 4G LTE network covering nearly 280 million people. AT&T will gain access to Cricket’s distribution channels and will be able to expand Cricket’s presence to additional U.S. cities.
Cricket’s network currently covers approximately 97 million people in 35 U.S. states, and Cricket had 4.57 million customers as of February 28, 2014. Customer migrations are expected to be completed approximately 18 months after the launch of the new Cricket.
In addition to Cricket’s operations, AT&T also acquired spectrum in the PCS and AWS bands covering nearly 138 million people. This spectrum is complementary to AT&T’s existing spectrum holdings and includes unutilized spectrum covering 41 million people.
AT&T will immediately use unutilized spectrum to support 4G LTE services to enhance capacity and network performance.
