FCC Approves Verizon/Alltel Purchase and Sprint/Clearwire Mergers

The FCC has officially approved the pending Verizon Wireless purchase of Alltel LLC as well as the merger of Sprint XOHM and Clearwire Inc.

With these two mergers completed after months of regulatory screening by federal regulators, both companies can commence the process to consolidate respective operations and streamline infrastructure. The approval did not come without a fair amount of concessions and requirements such as the divestment of 105 markets by Alltel and Verizon as well as the enforcement of current Alltel roaming agreements for the next four years.

Sprint XOHM and Clearwire have taken the final steps to complete their proposed merger first announced in April, even as AT&T made an attempt to stall the transaction by issuing a formal objection based on regulatory concerns. The combined company will be pooling resources and infrastructure to build out a nationwide mobile WiMax network with assistance from Google, Intel, Comcast, Nokia, and Motorola.

Clearwire shareholders will vote on November 20th to formally approve the merger and complete the transaction.