(Reuters) – U.S. telecom giant AT&T said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy certain wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar for about $23 billion.
Shares of satellite communications firm EchoStar jumped more than 40% in premarket trading, while AT&T rose 1.5%.
The deal advances AT&T’s investment plans to accelerate its fiber and 5G network build-out as the wireless market saturates and internet usage surges.
The licenses cover more than 400 markets across the U.S. in total and will strengthen AT&T’s low-band and mid-band spectrum holdings, the company said.
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
