Verizon's Shammo: We'll be in the 600 MHz auction, but more interested in high-band spectrum like AWS

Verizon Communications plans to participate in 2016's incentive auction of 600 MHz broadcast TV spectrum, but the company is more interested in acquiring higher-band spectrum for capacity, according to a senior Verizon executive. Verizon CFO Fran Shammo noted that Verizon first deployed LTE using nationwide, contiguous 700 MHz spectrum. "That doesn't mean that we can't operate with 600," he said. "But 600 and 700 don't play well together. There's a lot of interference. So where we have 700 there would be a lot of work to deploy 600 MHz spectrum."

Shammo said there are areas where Verizon could use more lower-band spectrum, "but it's probably not the top priority. We like the higher band like AWS." There has been speculation that Dish Network and Verizon could strike a deal for Verizon to get access to Dish's spectrum, most of which sits around the 2 GHz band. The companies would need to strike a deal soon ahead of the Federal Communications Commission imposing anti-collusion rules that prohibit discussions of spectrum agreements ahead of the incentive auction, or would otherwise need to wait until the latter part of 2016 to make a deal after that auction ends.