One small issue with Verizon Wireless’ plans to roll out nationwide LTE services using its 700 MHz spectrum was the fact it did not control 700 MHz spectrum covering Alaska, until now.
The nation’s largest wireless carrier said it has reached an agreement with Triad 700 L.L.C. to gain control of the C-Block license covering Alaska that Triad won during the Federal Communications Commission’s Auction 73 in 2008 for nearly $1.8 million.
There were no financial terms noted in Verizon Wireless’ announcement beyond “Verizon Wireless will pay on behalf of Triad the applicable unjust enrichment as determined by the FCC.” Verizon Wireless is already on the hook for more than $4.7 billion for the seven other C-Block licenses covering the other 49 states plus another $4.6 billion for other 700 MHz licenses it won.
If the transfer is approved Triad will still control 35 700 MHz licenses it won during the auction, including a C-Block license covering Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and an A-Block license covering Anchorage, Alaska. Triad participated in the 700 MHz auction as a designated entity, providing the company a discounted price on spectrum licenses as an attempt by the FCC to encourage new competitors into the mobile space.
The agreement between Verizon Wireless and Triad was announced just days after an appeals court ruled that some 2006 rules on designated-entity participation in spectrum auctions, including Auction 73, were invalid. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit struck down a rule that said DEs must keep their licenses for 10 years (the previous rule covered a five-year period) and a rule that limited who they can sell wholesale services to. The court commented that DEs should be allowed to lease or wholesale as much spectrum as they wish, as long as they do not give more than 25% to one entity.
In its notice, Verizon Wireless noted that “Grant of this application will serve the public interest. The transaction will allow Verizon Wireless, which currently holds no spectrum in Alaska, to provide voice, broadband data and other wireless products and services in a new service area.”
Verizon Wireless has said it plans to begin rolling out LTE services using its 700 MHz spectrum beginning this year with plans to cover 100 million potential customers in up to 30 markets by the end of the year. The carrier plans to have nationwide LTE coverage by the end of 2013.
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