Why Did Verizon Sell Towers to AT&T?

Although they remain separate telecom companies, AT&T and Verizon have had complex dealings going back for at least 15 years. In 2009 AT&T opted to acquire 79 wireless properties (including cell towers, subscribers, licenses, and certain infrastructure ) that were put up for auction by Verizon Wireless. The asset sale was mandated by the FCC because Verizon was dominant in more than 20 markets. Large investment groups competed with AT&T for the assets and this resulted in AT&T paying $2.35 billion cash for certain Verizon assets in 18 states. It did not result in AT&T owning all of Verizon’s assets. Each company has its own network. Overall, they don’t share cell towers except in certain areas where sharing improves coverage and capacity for both companies.