AT&T buys Verizon airwaves for $1.9 billion

Verizon agreed on Friday to sell the rights to blocks of airwaves to AT&T for $1.9 billion.

The cellular frequencies cover 42 million people in 18 states, including California, New York, Illinois and Texas. The additional airwaves, called spectrum, will help AT&T build out its next-generation LTE network and meet the growing data demands of smartphones and tablet computers.

The deal must be approved by the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission. The companies said they expect approval in the second half of this year.

Verizon and AT&T are the largest cellphone carriers in the country, followed by Sprint and T-Mobile.

Last year, Verizon acquired blocks of spectrum from a coalition of cable companies for $3.6 billion. That transaction also included agreements that allow Verizon and the cable companies to sell each other's services. 

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