FCC Bureau Seeks Comment on Crown Castle/Lightower Deal
The FCC Wireline Bureau established a pleading cycle on Crown Castle’s proposed buy of 30,000 route miles of fiber in many major markets. With an eye on small-cell deployment, Crown Castle in July agreed to buy Lightower from Berkshire Partners,…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Pamlico Capital and other investors for $7.1 billion cash (see 1707190020). The transfer is before the FCC. “Applicants state that the proposed transaction is in the public interest,” the bureau said in a Wednesday notice. Applicants maintain the deal would “expedite the expansion of wireless broadband infrastructure” and “bring Lightower’s experience with high-bandwidth fiber solutions to [Crown Castle’s] existing fiber subsidiaries,” the bureau said. Applicants also say it will “allow the combined entity to provide a wider range of services to customers,” the notice said. Comments are due Sept. 6 in docket 17-204, replies Oct. 13.