T-Mobile (TMUS 0.57%) announced today that it will pay $3.3 billion for spectrum licenses from Verizon Wireless (VZ -0.53%). T-Mobile will hand over $2.4 billion in cash and roughly $950 million worth of its own spectrum licenses to expand its low-band spectrum in some of the nation's top markets.
This latest addition expands T-Mobile's low-band coverage to 158 million people in areas including New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington D.C., and Detroit. According to the press release, low-band spectrum like the 700 MHz A-Block included in the deal is especially important for coverage in buildings and rural areas. Low-band spectrum also has the ability to travel greater distances than high-band spectrum, making it a more efficient way to provide coverage at the edge of cities and in less densely populated areas.
"This is a great opportunity to secure low-band spectrum in many of the top markets in America," T-Mobile President and CEO John Legere said in a press release "These transactions represent our biggest move yet in a series of initiatives that are rapidly expanding our already lightning fast network and improving its performance across the country. We will continue to find ways to advance our customers' network experience just as our bold Un-carrier moves have shaken up the wireless industry to benefit consumers."
Pending regulatory approval, the deal is expected to be sealed by mid-2014, with T-Mobile customers benefiting as soon as the fourth quarter of this year.
-- Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
