Verizon, T-Mobile Agree Spectrum Swap Pending Cable Deal

Verizon Communications (TBV) (Photo credit: L_cy)

By Scott Moritz and Todd Shields – Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. wireless carrier, agreed to sell airwave licenses to T-Mobile USA Inc., contingent on Verizon completing a $3.6 billion acquisition of spectrum from cable companies.

In the deal, Verizon will swap advanced wireless services, or AWS, spectrum covering 60 million people for airwaves from T- Mobile covering 22 million people plus an undisclosed payment. more> http://tinyurl.com/6n9dhce

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• Will more wireless spectrum for T-Mobile mean fewer antitrust concerns? (bizjournals.com)
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• Why the Verizon and T-Mobile spectrum deal could still fall apart, Marguerite Reardon, CNET News
• Verizon and T-Mobile Spectrum Swap: What’s in it for Mobile Users? Jared Newman, PCWorld
• Verizon, T-Mobile U.S. agree on spectrum deal, Nicola Leske, Reuters
• FCC favorably views Verizon, T-Mobile deal, Cecilia Kang, Washington Post

FCC wants to know if Verizon is warehousing spectrum

By Kevin Fitchard – The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is curious why Verizon Wireless bought a bunch of 4G spectrum back in 2008 but now plans to sell it.

Carriers like T-Mobile and Sprint, along with a slew of consumer advocacy and telecom industry groups, have criticized the deal, claiming Verizon is merely trying to lock up the most valuable 4G airwaves.

Verizon is in a tricky situation here. Those A and B block licenses don’t fit well into its LTE plans for multiple reasons: the goofy configuration of the 700 MHz band, the fact that they don’t form a nationwide footprint and interference concerns in A block. When Verizon bid on them and won them in 2008, it probably wanted them as insurance – or to keep them out of AT&T’s hands. It was hoping something better would come along, and it did — in the form of nice big gift-wrapped package of clean nationwide airwaves delivered by its new cable buddies. more> http://is.gd/fjiGqx

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• FCC Wants to Know More About Verizon’s Spectrum Offer (phonescoop.com)
• T-Mobile, RCA join forces to stop Verizon’s cable deals (fiercewireless.com)
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• T-Mobile, Sprint and Others Form Coalition to Oppose Verizon (pcadvisor.co.uk)
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Months After Failed AT&T Merger, T-Mobile Champions Competitive Balance

Hatfield T-Mobile Office (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Brad Reed – Given its very recent attempts to merge with AT&T, you would think T-Mobile wouldn’t be a vocal proponent of maintaining competitive balance in the wireless industry.

The reality, however, is that T-Mobile has had no issues repositioning itself as a champion of small carriers everywhere in its vocal opposition to Verizon‘s proposed deal to purchase spectrum from several major cable companies. more> http://is.gd/BPleUE

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CTIA 2012: A non-stop spectrum beg-a-thon

CTIA – The Wireless Association
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Brad Reed – This year’s CTIA wireless tradeshow in New Orleans seemed less like an industry gathering at times and more like an infomercial dedicated to forcing the government’s hand to free up more spectrum. Start with CTIA President and CEO Steve Largent, who dedicated the vast majority of his introductory keynote address to discussing the challenges carriers will face if they don’t get fresh spectrum to use within the next few years.

“We simply need more spectrum,” he said. “Getting more spectrum is the No.1 goal of CTIA.”

Later that day, Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead took up the baton and similarly lobbied for the government to open up new airwaves for mobile data services.

T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm, meanwhile, said “the need for spectrum is urgent since it takes a while for new spectrum to be auctioned off and put to use.” more> http://tinyurl.com/79xbgp2

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T-Mobile seeks to block Verizon spectrum purchase

By Timothy B. Lee – The spectrum under dispute was acquired in an auction by a coalition of cable companies led by Comcast and Time Warner in 2006. But the cable firms have apparently decided they don’t want to be in the wireless business after all. In December, Verizon Wireless announced plans to buy the spectrum, which is in the AWS band, for $3.6 billion.

T-Mobile argues that the current formula does not take into account the fact that the lower-frequency spectrum that Verizon disproportionately holds is more useful than higher-frequency spectrum that T-Mobile itself owns. T-Mobile advocates that the FCC weight spectrum holdings by their market value, rather than treating every megahertz as equally valuable. more> http://is.gd/TNoEe6

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