Verizon to buy $3.6B of spectrum for 4G service

{mosads} Dan Mead, president of Verizon Wireless, said the deal will help his company provide consumers with the next generation of wireless technology, 4G LTE. 

“Americans deserve excellence from a wireless service provider, and innovative wireless companies plan ahead in order to deliver on that expectation,” he said in a news release. “Spectrum is the raw material on which wireless networks are built, and buying the [advanced wireless] spectrum now solidifies our network leadership into the future, and will enable us to bring even better 4G LTE products and services to our customers.”

The deal is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

An FCC spokesman said the agency will conduct “a thorough, fair and fact-based review of the proposed transaction.” 

If approved, the sale might help Verizon, which is already the nation’s largest wireless carrier, extend its lead over second-place AT&T, which has become bogged down in legal battles in its attempt to buy T-Mobile. 

One of AT&T’s main arguments for buying T-Mobile was that its spectrum assets would improve AT&T’s service.

Both the House and Senate are considering bills to incentivize television broadcasters to give up their spectrum for the government to auction to wireless companies.

“While government action to free more spectrum is expected, this transaction ensures that the spectrum which is already available for mobile services is used effectively to serve customers,” Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner and Bright House said in a joint statement.

The deal will allow the three cable companies to eventually offer wireless service using Verizon’s network. The companies also announced a joint venture to develop new technologies and better integrate wireline and wireless services.

—Updated at 12:35 p.m.