If there’s one thing that a mobile carrier relies on far more than its line-up of devices or, its customers, its access to spectrum. In times like these access to more spectrum is becoming even more of a necessity for carriers like T-Mobile that aren’t in an exactly great place at the moment. The carrier hasn’t enjoyed a good couple of years and is struggling to keep its place in the pack of top-tier TelCos.
Their latest deal with Big Red might be of some help to T-Mobile though, as the outfit feels that it will “improve” their position in 15 of the top 25 markets in the US and it will also allow them to “promptly” roll-out their own LTE service, including the launch of the service next year.
The spectrum in question covers roughly 60 Million people in a whopping 218 markets overall and is a joint purchase and exchange of spectrum from the cable consortium, SpectrumCo. Unsurprisingly, the deal is subject to regulatory approval from the FCC and is somewhat of a gamble for T-Mobile as it includes deals that Verizon have made with SpectrumCo but, that are still pending. It looks like T-Mobile are putting a few more eggs than it ought to in the basket again but, in their position they need to get LTE and improved service rolled out to stay relevant going forward.