Apparently AT&T is not satisfied with the proposed acquisition of T-Mobile and its earlier bid to buy a nice hunk of Qualcomm 700MHz licenses. The telco is also filing smaller applications with the Federal Communications Commission for broadband spectrum in the 700MHz zone.

On Thursday, the FCC disclosed AT&T's bid to transfer two licenses from Knology of Kansas to itself. These are properties in the "beachfront broadband" quality Lower 700MHz B and C block regions.

The applications say that the extra spectrum will allow AT&T "to increase its system capacity to enhance existing services, better accommodate its overall growth, and facilitate the provision of additional products and services to the public" in the Worcester-Fitchburg-Leominster, Massachusetts and Lawrence, Kansas cell phone market areas.

The FCC's "preliminary review" of the applications indicates that in Lawrence, AT&T would then hold 55MHz of spectrum below one GHz, and in the Worcester areas possess 61MHz of spectrum below that same ceiling.

Inconsistent results

This isn't a huge addition to AT&T's portfolio, but it stands out given the company's higher profile T-Mobile and Qualcomm bids. Indeed, the Commission's disclosures note that these spectrum estimates take into account AT&T's pending applications to acquire 12MHz of Lower 700MHz D and E Block spectrum from Qualcomm in the Massachusetts market, and six megahertz of Lower 700MHz D Block licensage in the Kansas market.

AT&T wants Qualcomm's Lower 700MHz D and E block licenses in Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Looming over the Qualcomm application is the question of whether the FCC should consider it and the T-Mobile bid's potentially anti-competitive impact in one competitive impact review package. That's what five media reform groups asked the FCC to do in late April.

Both proceedings "should be combined to enable a full and complete competitive analysis," Free Press, Public Knowledge, the Media Access Project, and two other groups urged. Ditto say MetroPCS, Sprint, and Rural Celluluar Association in their own filing.

As you might guess, AT&T isn't crazy about this idea. "A delay in the proceeding also could result in a delay in AT&T’s more efficient use of the spectrum (as early as 2014)—a result inconsistent with the National Broadband Plan's goal of putting spectrum to a more efficient use," the company warns in its statement opposing consolidation.

Besides, the Commission is "fully capable" of considering the impact of Qualcomm acquisition in a separate proceeding, the telco writes. Next comes a sentence that suggests that AT&T considers the Qualcomm application a done deal:

"Indeed, the AT&T/T-Mobile applications assume the consummation of the AT&T/Qualcomm transaction for purposes of the spectrum screen analysis in the Public Interest Statement filed in that proceeding."