Verizon snags $3.6B worth of spectrum licenses as AT&T hits FCC roadbloack

Reprint
by Jon Brodkin | Published about 3 hours ago

Verizon Wireless has struck a $3.6 billion deal to buy wireless spectrum covering 259 million Americans from Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. The deal comes just as rival AT&T's $39 billion attempt to buy T-Mobile USA flounders in the wake of opposition from the Federal Communications Commission.

The Verizon deal is also pending FCC approval, however. Verizon claims "This sale of spectrum is an important step toward ensuring that the needs and desires of consumers for additional mobile services will not be thwarted by the current spectrum shortage." Specifically, Verizon is attempting to buy SpectrumCo, a joint venture between Comcast, Time Warner, and Bright House, which owns 122 Advanced Wireless Services spectrum licenses. Comcast owns 63.6 percent of SpectrumCo while Time Warner owns 31.2 percent and Bright House owns 5.3 percent. The companies involved in this deal also said they have struck an agreement giving the cable companies the option to sell Verizon Wireless service on a wholesale basis, and started a joint venture "for the development of technology to better integrate wireline and wireless products and services."

The Wall Street Journal notes that Verizon's deal would give it more capacity as it builds out its 4G network, and "a competitive advantage as AT&T devotes more resources into getting the T-Mobile buyout past regulatory muster."