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U.S. mobile operator announces deal with AT&T in Chicago area, boosting its Extended Range LTE footprint.
T-Mobile US this week revealed that it has brokered another deal to acquire spectrum in the 700 MHz band, this time covering the greater Chicago area.
The U.S. mobile operator has agreed to acquire the airwaves from AT&T for an undisclosed sum. The spectrum is actually licensed to an entity known as Leap Licenseco and was picked up by AT&T as part of its purchase of smaller rival Leap Wireless just over two years ago.
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions, and T-Mobile expects it to close in the fourth quarter of the year.
Once it has completed the transaction, the telco will begin using the spectrum for its Extended Range LTE service in the Chicago area.
Extended Range LTE carries signals twice as far and works four times better in buildings than standard LTE, T-Mobile said.
It launched Extended Range LTE in December 2014 and the service now covers 195 million Americans.
The rollout of the service was facilitated by T-Mobile’s ongoing quest to pick up additional 700-MHz frequencies.
In early 2014 T-Mobile announced the acquisition of 700-MHz – or A block – spectrum from Verizon in a multi-billion-dollar deal.
"Since then, the company has embarked on a very successful strategy to roll-up outstanding A block licences, executing 23 different agreements to beef up the company’s 700-MHz spectrum portfolio," T-Mobile said, in a statement.
"And that’s in addition to the company’s upcoming participation in the 600-MHz incentive auction," it said.
The telco added that once this latest 700-MHz deal closes, it will hold A block spectrum that covers all of the 10 markets in the U.S. with the potential to reach 269 million Americans – 83% of the population – with Extended Range LTE.
