T-Mobile, the smallest of the country’s nationwide operators and the only one today without significant low-band spectrum holdings, has announced that it has finalized a deal that would see it acquire from Verizon Wireless all of the Lower 700 MHz A Block licenses that Verizon Wireless won in Auction 73. In exchange for receiving various Lower 700 MHz A Block licenses, T-Mobile is parting with $2.365 billion in cash, AWS spectrum in 19 markets covering 34 million POPs and PCS spectrum in 8 markets covering 21 million POPs. Verizon Wireless’ 700 MHz A Block licenses cover approximately 150 million POPs, including 8 of the Top 10 markets and 21 of the Top 30 U.S. markets. Verizon Wireless had previously announced in 2012 that it would sell off its Lower 700 MHz A and B license portfolio in order to curry favor with government regulators while closing an earlier deal to acquire large amounts of AWS licenses from several cable companies, including Comcast, Time Warner, Bright House Networks, and Cox.
