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Verizon and T-Mobile in US spectrum swap
26 June 2012
Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA to exchange LTE spectrum once deal with cable operators is done
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spectrum
Verizon Wireless
T-Mobile
AWS
Deutsche Telecom
Verizon Wireless has signed an agreement with Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile USA to exchange spectrum in the Advanced Wireless Services band. The two providers will also receive additional spectrum in specific markets in order to meet LTE capacity requirements and allow LTE expansion.
The spectrum involved is that which Verizon Wireless is buying from two cable operators — the SpectrumCo consortium and Cox Cable — and from Leap Wireless. Verizon Wireless, 45% owned by Vodafone, is making it clear that the T-Mobile deal will come into operation only if it succeeds in buying the new spectrum.
Dan Mead, president and CEO of Verizon Wireless, said: “The agreement with T-Mobile is further evidence of the importance of a secondary spectrum market to give companies the flexibility to exchange or acquire spectrum to meet customers’ growing demands for wireless data services. The AWS licences we’ll acquire from T-Mobile and through SpectrumCo, Cox and Leap will be used to add capacity to our 4G LTE network.”
AWS is a US term for spectrum that uses 1710-1755 megahertz for uplink and 2110-2155 megahertz for downlink.
The deal involves a number of intra-market spectrum swaps that will result in better use of the AWS band for both companies. T-Mobile USA will pay unspecified sums in cash for the spectrum it buys from Verizon Wireless. GTB
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