T-Mobile is continuing to stand up for Verizon with the FCC and their $3.6 billion acquisition of AWS spectrum from SpectrumCo that will allow T-Mobile to pick up some of Verizon’s unused AWS spectrum in a different block. T-Mobile is arguing that the deal will help them deploy LTE in areas it may not have been able to do so without the additional spectrum from Verizon.
In filings with the FCC, T-Mobile acknowledged that its executives met with the FCC Chairman and other officials from the FCC. Among the discussions were the proposed spectrum swap and arguments from the Rural Telecommunications Group which claims the deal between T-Mobile and Verizon won’t result in the same results T-Mobile believes it will.
The spectrum swap offers coverage in 218 markets across the country and T-Mobile said it will allow it to expand its offerings to 60 million people. According to T-Mobile’s filling with the FCC, interim CEO Jim Alling noted that the spectrum swap:
“Will enable T-Mobile to deploy LTE services in a number of markets where such deployment would otherwise have been impossible, and to enhance its LTE service in a number of additional markets where T-Mobile would have otherwise been limited to a 5×5 MHz LTE deployment.”
You can read the full filling with the FCC here.