Transfer of Spectrum from AT&T to T-Mobile Approved by FCC

The Federal Communications Commission approved the transfer of AWS spectrum licenses from AT&T to T-Mobile USA, agreed to as part of the breakup of the proposed merger between the two companies.

This transfer provides T-Mobile with a large package of valuable AWS mobile spectrum in 128 Cellular Market Areas (CMAs), including 12 of the top 20 markets. “We applaud the FCC for acting swiftly to approve the transfer of these spectrum licenses,” said Neville Ray, chief technology officer, T-Mobile USA. “Securing this additional spectrum was a key catalyst for our plans to launch LTE in 2013 and is therefore good news for our customers.” T-Mobile recently announced its 4G evolution strategy. The company will invest $4 billion on network modernization to improve existing voice and data coverage, and broadly deploy LTE in 2013. T-Mobile continues to need more AWS spectrum to support its 4G evolution efforts and the continued growth in mobile data services.