Verizon's trying to buy $3.6b worth of spectrum from the Comcast / Time Warner / Bright House partnership known as SpectrumCo, and the companies plan to offer each other's services. The deal has drawn attention from the FCC, and we're tracking it all right here.
Verizon, Comcast, and Time Warner partnering up: the story so far
FCC asks Verizon to explain its conditional 700MHz spectrum sale
The FCC has formally asked Verizon a series of questions today regarding its proposed sale of A and B Block 700MHz spectrum — spectrum that it has only agreed to sell if it's allowed to buy controversial AWS spectrum from the so-called SpectrumCo consortium of cable companies. The SpectrumCo deal has generated enormous buzz both from smaller wireless companies and the government because it's in a frequency that T-Mobile could use (which, by all appearances, is more spectrum-constrained than...
Alliance for Broadband Competition launches, seeks to avoid wireless duopoly
Taking up Verizon's attempted purchase of SpectrumCo's AWS spectrum as its headline issue, a number of carriers, businesses, and nonprofits have collaborated to launch the so-called Alliance for Broadband Competition today. Notably, both Sprint and T-Mobile USA are members of the Alliance — the third- and fourth-largest US nationals, both of which have raised vocal objections to recent industry moves — along with the Rural Cellular Association, which had emerged in recent months as a...
FCC delays review of Verizon SpectrumCo deal due to 'untimely' responses
Verizon's attempt to purchase $3.6 billion worth of spectrum from Comcast, Time Warner, and Bright House is facing more FCC scrutiny than the companies may have anticipated. In a letter today, the FCC cited "untimely productions" from the companies when it came to the submission of documents supporting the deal. The original deadline the FCC set, March 22nd, was not met, and when the companies did get around to submitting documents by late April, the FCC said it found "deficiencies" in what...
Comcast and Verizon Wireless expand cross-selling deals to six new markets
The somewhat convoluted, definitely contentious, and perhaps slightly conflicted relationship between Verizon Wireless and the cable companies that make up SpectrumCo continues today, as both Comcast and Verizon have announced that they will be selling each other's services through their individual sales channels in more markets. Customers in Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, MO., Minneapolis, and Salt Lake City will now be able to purchase Comcast Xfinity services at Verizon stores while...
Verizon and SpectrumCo call T-Mobile a hypocrite, tell FCC to ignore criticism of AWS deal
Debate over Verizon's proposed acquisition of AWS spectrum from cable company joint venture SpectrumCo continues to rage unabated in Washington, and the company has now issued a scathing rebuke of T-Mobile's objections last week. In that prior filing, T-Mobile had argued that Verizon wasn't even using the AWS spectrum it already owns, so there's no compelling reason for it to be allowed to acquire additional licenses in that band — licenses that T-Mobile itself could use in advancement of...
T-Mobile: Verizon doesn't need AWS spectrum it's trying to buy, because it hasn't used the AWS spectrum it already owns
Virtually any spectrum purchase undertaken by the two largest incumbent carriers in the US is going to be met with anticompetitive skepticism. Verizon's attempted purchase of a block of AWS bandwidth from cable consortium SpectrumCo is no exception — not only have T-Mobile (which relies almost exclusively on AWS for its present-day 3G footprint) and other members of the Rural Cellular Association approached the deal with strong objection, but both the FCC and Congress have raised concerns...
Verizon to sell unused 700MHz licenses if allowed to buy controversial spectrum from cable companies
Verizon has announced today that it'll "conduct an open sale process" for its 700MHz spectrum licenses in the so-called A and B blocks, licenses that it doesn't currently use to support its ongoing LTE rollout. There's a catch, though: the offering is contingent on government approval of the carrier's controversial acquisition of $3.6 billion worth of AWS spectrum (the same band used by T-Mobile) from a consortium of cable companies, a deal that has been met by considerable resistance from...
Verizon and Time Warner begin selling bundled services in various US markets, offer $200 rebate
Verizon and Time Warner promised that they would start cross-selling services this year after their historic (and controversial) spectrum-swap deal was announced, and things are kicking off today: Verizon and Time Warner stores in Kansas City (Kansas), Toledo and Columbus (Ohio), and Raleigh (North Carolina) will now offer products and services from the other company in package deals. There's no direct integration beyond just cross-selling, though: you'll still get different bills from each...
Verizon CEO teases cable TV for mobile phones, if SpectrumCo deal goes through
Verizon is very keen on getting public support for its proposed $3.6 billion purchase of wireless spectrum from Comcast, Bright House and Time Warner Cable, and today CEO Lowell McAdam is suggesting to that same public that a mobile television service could help sweeten the deal. He told The Wall Street Journal that if the purchase is approved, the cable operators could team up with Verizon to provide an "integrated" mobile TV deal "in time for the holidays." What's more, McAdam told the J...
Verizon takes its case for buying cable companies' spectrum to the public
A day after Verizon general counsel Randal Milch testified before a Senate committee defending the company's proposed acquisition of AWS spectrum from a joint venture of several cable companies, the company has taken its case directly to the public with a new post on its Policy Blog. The Judiciary Committee is actively looking at the implications both of the spectrum deal (at a time when many carriers, big and small, are looking for spectrum wherever they can find it) and also of a number of...
Verizon defends its Comcast deal before Congress, says there's 'no other place to go to buy spectrum'
Scrutiny has mounted in recent months over Verizon's deal to purchase $3.6 billion of spectrum from SpectrumCo — a joint venture of Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House — and today at 2PM EST the US Congress' Senate Judiciary Committee will hear testimony from Verizon about the deal. In its testimony today, Verizon plans to argue that its deal will not harm consumers, and it claims that "no customer will see fewer choices or increased prices as a result." The deal includes...
FCC asks Verizon to uncensor documents supporting $3.6b spectrum acquisition
The FCC threw a kink in Verizon's plans today to acquire a large chunk of AWS spectrum from SpectrumCo, a joint venture of several cable companies, asking the carrier for uncensored versions of heavily-redacted documents it filed several days ago in support of the transaction. Specifically, the feds are asking for unredacted sections pertaining to agreements that would allow Verizon and the associated cable companies to resell each others' services, the spectrum purchase agreement itself, and...
Verizon warns demand will outstrip LTE capacity 'as early as 2013'
The nation's top two carriers — Verizon and AT&T — are keen to remind federal regulators of their spectrum constraints at every opportunity. To that end, Verizon took to a joint filing to the FCC with SpectrumCo last Friday in defense of their proposed sale of AWS spectrum, a transaction that T-Mobile has publicly opposed. In the filing, Verizon goes over why and how its existing 700MHz LTE deployment will be out of breathing room "in some areas" by next year with wider-scale exhaustion...
Verizon claims to use spectrum twice as efficiently as T-Mobile
T-Mobile has issued an FCC filing opposing Verizon's plans to purchase additional spectrum licenses in the AWS band from cable companies, saying that Verizon is mainly doing this to keep the licenses away from smaller companies such as itself. T-Mobile also said that it would use the additional spectrum "more quickly, more intensively, and more efficiently than Verizon Wireless" — a statement that Verizon seems to have some issues with.
In a post on Verizon's policy blog, Charla Rath, VP of...
T-Mobile seeks to block Verizon's spectrum deal with cable companies
T-Mobile has asked the FCC to block Verizon's purchase of spectrum from SpectrumCo — an alliance between Comcast, Time Warner, and Bright House to sell off unused spectrum allocation in the AWS band. In an FCC filing, T-Mobile states that the deal would give Verizon control over an "excessive concentration" of wireless spectrum. Verizon's deal would see it acquire licenses for the AWS band in a number of areas for use in its LTE rollout. Verizon is yet to comment on the matter.
Somewhat...
Verizon Wireless' partnership with Comcast sets up potential conflicts with FiOS
A few weeks ago, Verizon Wireless and Comcast took the first steps foward with a partnership involving spectrum deals and an agreement to sell each others' services. The wireless giant started offering Comcast's Xfinity internet, TV, and home phone services in Portland and Seattle, but there's a few potential conflicts that could crop up — specifically, the fact that Verizon also is heavily invested in its FiOS services which compete directly with Comcast. While Portland and Seattle are...
Verizon's spectrum-for-cable deal with Comcast and Time Warner facing government scrutiny
According to Bloomberg, Verizon's bid to buy $3.9 billion worth of spectrum from the Comcast / Time Warner / Bright House partnership known as SpectrumCo will face increased antitrust scrutiny from the DOJ. It's not necessarily surprising news, as spectrum transactions are always subject to regulatory approval and Verizon just filed with the FCC for approval today, but the deal effectively eliminates the cable companies from the field of wireless competition, and the FCC and DOJ made it...
Verizon to offer cable services following SpectrumCo deal
We've already heard from Comcast that it plans to offer Verizon Wireless service as part of its packages in the New Year. Now, Verizon's CEO and President Lowell McAdam has told the UBS Global Media and Communications conference that it will reciprocate, and begin offering cable services to its customers in January. These partnerships follow the $3.6 billion deal between Verizon and SpectrumCo (a coalition between Comcast, Time Warner, and Bright House) to license currently unused...
Comcast: we're selling Verizon Wireless products in 2012
Comcast is going to start selling Verizon Wireless products in 2012, stated Comcast Cable president Neil Smit at an investor conference yesterday. As we reported, Comcast cashed out $2.3 billion in the SpectrumCo deal, a deal that allows SpectrumCo members Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House to sell Verizon's service directly, and it appears that Comcast is going to be the first to take advantage.
While SpectrumCo had been formed as a way for the cable companies to move into the...
Comcast, TWC, Bright House consortium selling $3.6 billion of spectrum to Verizon
By all appearances, AT&T's deal to purchase the 700MHz spectrum owned by Qualcomm (for its defunct MediaFLO service) is going to close any day now — and Verizon is striking back, forging a deal with SpectrumCo to buy out its 122 licenses in the AWS band. SpectrumCo is the joint venture of Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House that was formed to oversee a portfolio of wireless spectrum to be used collectively by the landline companies — but clearly, their business model has...
