Verizon says T-Mobile hypocritical about spectrum

Verizon told the Federal Communications that T-Mobile is two-faced in opposing the SpectrumCo deal because its parent company is telling investors it has excess network capacity while T-Mobile is telling the FCC it has too little.

“T-Mobile’s regulatory advocacy is so different from its parent’s view that one can only conclude it is misusing the regulatory process solely to impede a competitor’s 4G plans or extract concessions,” Verizon wrote to the Federal Communications Commission in a letter filed late May 21. T-Mobile is one of the many opponents of the $3.9 billion deal that would assign the wireless frequencies held by the Comcast-led SpectrumCo and Cox Communications to Verizon. In addition to the frequencies, the cable companies and Verizon have agreed to a series of marketing agreements that allow the companies to market each other’s services. “With respect to T-Mobile’s capacity argument in particular, its parent company’s statements again directly contradict its regulatory story,” Verizon wrote. “Deutsche Telekom’s characterization of T-Mobile’s ‘empty network’ suggests that T-Mobile is the one with excess capacity — a situation that it says might extend for six years or more.” Verizon’s smackdown comes after T-Mobile took a swipe of its own last week when a cadre of company representatives told FCC senior officials that there is no need to hand over valuable frequencies to Verizon.