T-Mobile USA Spends $150 Million, Buys NextWave Spectrum

by iTroyboy | July 25, 2008 at 01:55 pm

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T-Mobile is certainly late to the 3G game here in the US, but they aren't letting that stand in their way. Lucky New Yorkers have had 3G access beginning earlier this year, with T-Mobile reporting that they anticipate 3G rollout to the remaining top 25 markets by year's end.

In another move being reported today, T-Mobile is acquiring another nice chunk of AWS spectrum. For markets not listed in the top 25, this should be music to your ears. Let's hope you don't have to wait another two years to see this rolled out.

NextWave Wireless announced this week it sold 63% of its Advanced Wireless Services spectrum for about $150 million.

Pending FCC approval, the company will sell 599 million MHz-pops of its AWS spectrum to T-Mobile USA, MetroPCS, ACS Wireless, and Atlantic Wireless. NextWave originally acquired all of its AWS licenses for about $115 million at the FCC auction in 2006.

For T-Mobile, the move gives the fourth-largest U.S. wireless carrier more options to potentially expand its 3G network. The company had previously spent more than $4 billion to acquire AWS spectrum during the 2006 auction and began rolling out its high-speed mobile network earlier this year.