PCCA Journal|1
st
Quarter 2015
34
“Access to high-speed internet is
critical to ensuring that all New Yorkers
can reach their full potential in today’s
technology-driven world,” Cuomo said.
“We’re launching the largest state broad-
band investment in the nation in order
to make that goal a reality.”
The Cuomo administration said that
broadband has never been more criti-
cal to New York’s future. Broadband is
responsible for 20 percent of new jobs
across all businesses and 30 percent of
new jobs in businesses with fewer than
20 employees. Farmers need broadband
to manage their crops, rural doctors need
it to read x-rays and scans in real-time,
and students need it for online and digi-
tal learning.
5FMFDPN /FXT
Continued from page 33
Study Shows NTIA Broadband
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T
he U.S. Commerce Department’s
National Telecommunications
and Information Administration
(NTIA) released a new independent re-
search study on January 14 showing that
its broadband grants program resulted in
billions of dollars in economic benefits
to the communities served, including
increased economic output and higher
levels of employment.
The four-year study, prepared by the
research firm ASR Analytics, examined
the social and economic impacts of the
$4 billion in Recovery Act grants award-
ed by NTIA to expand broadband access
and adoption across the country through
the Broadband Technology Opportunities
Program (BTOP). In communities where
grantees built new broadband infra-
structure, broadband availability grew
by an estimated 2 percent more than in
communities not served by a broadband
grantee. That growth could be expected
to translate into increased economic out-
put of as much as $21 billion annually,
the report concluded.
“We’ve seen firsthand the transform-
ing economic and societal impact that
broadband has on communities across
the country,” said NTIA Administra-
tor Lawrence E. Strickling. “The study
released today captures only an early
picture of the economic impact of our
broadband grants. As more and more
providers take advantage of Recovery
Act-funded networks, we fully anticipate
that the impact will be even greater.”
NTIA also unveiled its Broadband USA
initiative aimed at finding new ways to
assist communities seeking to build their
broadband capacity to advance econom-
ic development.
A
T&T has entered into an agreement with NII
Holdings, Inc. to acquire its wireless business in
Mexico for US$1.875 billion, less the outstanding
net debt of the business at closing, in a transaction pursuant
to Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Under terms of
the agreement, AT&T will acquire companies which operate
under the name Nextel Mexico, holding all of NII’s wireless
properties in Mexico, including spectrum licenses, network
assets, retail stores, and approximately 3 million subscribers.
Nextel Mexico’s network covers approximately 76 million
people. The acquisition of Nextel Mexico will support AT&T’s
plans to bring greater competition and faster mobile internet
speeds to the Mexican wireless market. AT&T plans to create
the first-ever North American Mobile Service area covering
over 400 million consumers and businesses in Mexico and
the United States, and Nextel Mexico’s subscribers will be
included.
Combining Nextel Mexico with Iusacell will allow AT&T to
more quickly improve and expand its mobile internet service
to the benefit of millions of Mexicans, particularly those who
live outside major metropolitan areas, than it could otherwise
do without the transaction, the company said. The transac-
tion is subject to a bankruptcy auction and approvals by the
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York,
which is overseeing the restructuring of NII Holdings. The
transaction is also subject to regulatory approval by Mexico’s
telecom regulator IFT (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicacio-
nes).
Based on its recent positive experience with Mexico’s
focused regulatory review and approval process, AT&T said it
expects the transaction to close in mid-2015.
AT&T to Acquire Nextel Mexico