United States Cellular Corporation (NYSE: USM) successfully bid for spectrum licenses in the recent FCC C-band Auction 107 and purchased 254 licenses covering 94 percent of its subscribers for an estimated total cost of $1.46 billion. The amount included gross bids as well as estimated relocation costs and accelerated relocation incentive payments. Combined with prior mid-band purchases of CBRS spectrum in Auction 105, UScellular will have mid-band spectrum in nearly all of its operating footprint, the company says.
“All spectrum bands will play an important role in our 5G network strategy,” said UScellular President/CEO Laurent Therivel. “We are currently deploying 5G on 600 MHz spectrum, and we have planned all along to augment it with mid and high band spectrum.” Therivel added, “We are also hopeful that the administration will focus on bridging the digital divide by making more spectrum available for network deployment and ensuring all Americans have access to high-quality and affordable broadband services.”
Michael Irizarry, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer-Engineering and Information Services, said network quality has always been the foundation of the company’s strategy. “As we continue our multi-year network modernization and 5G deployment,” Irizarry said, “we are delivering an outstanding customer experience while ramping up business opportunities that use 5G and IoT. We are also conducting customer pilots using millimeter wave spectrum for a high-speed internet product to test market demand.”
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