T-Mobile to Pay $308 Million for More Spectrum

T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest American carrier, has agreed to pay $308 million for spectrum licenses currently held by US Cellular.

The spectrum would enable T-Mobile to expand its new fourth-generation wireless network in 29 cities for 32 million people. The acquisition helps T-Mobile play catch-up to its rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T. T-Mobile only recently started turning on its fourth-generation network, called LTE, in a small number of cities as it has been making extensive changes to its smartphone payment plans, which did away with traditional two-year contracts. By contrast, AT&T has deployed 4G LTE in over 290 markets, and Verizon Wireless has LTE in about 500 markets.

T-Mobile’s proposed acquisition of spectrum from U.S. Cellular awaits regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission and Justice Department. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, T-Mobile said.