T-Mobile Buys 4G Wireless Spectrum from Verizon

Today, T-Mobile announced an agreement with Verizon Wireless for the purchase and exchange of wireless spectrum in 15 of the top 25 markets in the country. This will improve T-Mobile's current HSPA+ service as well as its even faster LTE service, which will launch in 2013.

The deal includes certain Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum licenses in 218 markets across the U.S. This spectrum can be deployed to enhance the company's 4G broadband service, including the upcoming rollout of their own LTE service.

"This agreement will provide T-Mobile with critical AWS spectrum, enhancing both network capacity and performance and allowing us to meet the growing consumer demand for 4G mobile broadband," T-Mobile CEO and President Philipp Humm said.

T-Mobile will gain spectrum covering 60 million people in exchange for cash and a spectrum covering 22 million people. The carrier will gain people in many locations including Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Seattle, and Detroit.

The agreement also includes exchanges in a number of markets in which the companies will swap licenses to create more contiguous blocks of coverage. These intra-market swaps will enhance T Mobile's network performance and data throughput in key locations.

This deal must be approved by the FCC and the Department of Justice before it can go into effect. T-Mobile expects to have this by the end of the summer.