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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