spectrum

The Federal Communications Commission just gave the final approval for Verizon Wireless to purchase the biggest hunk of spectrum outside of a full company merger in U.S. history. So what's it all mean?

In December, Verizon proposed buying 20 MHz of wireless spectrum from a consortium of cable operators known as SpectrumCo, which included Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Communications. It also struck a separate but similar deal to buy spectrum from cable operator Cox Communications.

The deal was controversial for two main reasons. First, it would have allowed Verizon to effectively double its spectrum holdings … Read more

(Note: This is a guest column by Geoffrey Manne and Berin Szoka. See below for their bios.)

commentary Yesterday was seemingly a good day for users of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. The Federal Communications Commission approved, with conditions, Verizon's purchase of wireless spectrum from SpectrumCo, a consortium of cable companies. The more spectrum that's put to use, the more we'll ease the coming "spectrum crunch" as exploding data demands outstrip supply. This particular spectrum has sat unused for years, and the FCC's approval of the deal (following on the Department of Justice's approval … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission has approved four separate deals that will transfer wireless spectrum to Verizon Wireless, including the $3.9 billion deal between Verizon and a group of cable operators.

The approved deals will allow Verizon to get nearly 20 megahertz of Advanced Wireless Service spectrum from SpectrumCo, a joint venture that includes cable operators Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and BrightHouse, as well as AWS spectrum from cable operator Cox Communications.

The agency also gave the green light to transfer spectrum licenses from prepaid provider Leap Wireless. In addition, it OK'd the transfer of wireless spectrum licenses between … Read more

Verizon Wireless faces one last regulatory hurdle in its bid to buy cable spectrum in a deal valued at $3.9 billion: the Federal Communications Commission.

Earlier this week, Verizon and the cable companies involved in the deal won approval from the Department of Justice. But the approval didn't come without strings. Verizon and the cable companies were required to scale back certain parts of their commercial agreements in an effort to satisfy anticompetitive concerns that the DOJ and the FCC had with the deal.

Verizon has also already agreed to sell some spectrum to competitor T-Mobile USA in … Read more

Verizon Wireless and a consortium of cable operators, which includes Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Communications, today won approval from U.S. regulators to go through with their $3.9 billion deal to exchange wireless spectrum.

The Department of Justice announced it has negotiated a settlement with Verizon Wireless and the cable companies. And FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said he supports the deal and will recommend approval with certain conditions in place. The full FCC has yet to vote on the deal. Once that's completed, the sale of the spectrum will be allowed to proceed.

Genachowski said … Read more

Verizon and a consortium of cable companies have struck a deal with regulators to scale back their joint marketing arrangement to gain approval for their $3.9 billion wireless-spectrum deal, according to sources in a Wall Street Journal report.

Verizon and the cable consortium -- which includes Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Communications -- have supposedly agreed to terms put forth by the Department of Justice that will limit the joint marketing agreement to five years and will prevent Verizon and cable operators from reselling each other's services in markets where their broadband, television, and phone services … Read more

There has been a lot of talk over the past year about spectrum shortages, spectrum interference, companies proposing mergers just to get their hands on spectrum and even spectrum auctions that will help bail the nation out of debt.

But what exactly is wireless spectrum? And why are people in the wireless industry talking about it in apocalyptic terms?

These are good questions, so let's step back and explain what wireless spectrum is, why it's become increasingly scarce, and what regulators are supposed to (or not) do about it.

All wireless communications signals travel over the air via … Read more

C Spire Wireless, a small, southern wireless provider formerly known as Cellular South, has an ambitious plan to build a fast, 4G LTE network to reach its 900,000 customers. To do it, C Spire bought $192 million worth of 700 MHz wireless spectrum, which is considered some of the most valuable wireless spectrum that's still available because it can travel long distances and penetrate obstacles.

But there's a problem. C Spire claims it hasn't been able to use this spectrum and hasn't been able to deploy its 4G network. It says the bigger carriers, especially … Read more

AT&T is preparing to pull the plug on its 2G wireless network, but it will be a long goodbye.

The Dallas telecommunications company said it plans to discontinue its 2G network, also known as EDGE or GSM, by Jan. 1, 2017. It plans to take that 2G spectrum and re-use it to augment its 3G and 4G wireless services. The plans were disclosed in its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

It's one of several moves AT&T has made to improve its spectrum position and fend off a looming capacity crunch. The company yesterday … Read more