The FCC approved a spectrum swap between T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) and South Carolina-based Horry Telephone Cooperative (HTC). It involves the assignment of 600 MHz licenses from HTC to T-Mobile and the assignment of cellular spectrum licenses from T-Mobile to HTC.
T-Mobile and HTC plan to exchange 20 MHz of HTC’s 600 MHz spectrum for up to 25 MHz of T-Mobile’s cellular spectrum in four counties in South Carolina. Post-transaction, T-Mobile would hold 293 to 338 MHz of spectrum, including 74 MHz of sub 1 GHz spectrum. HTC would hold 92 to 137 MHz of spectrum, including 12 to 37 MHz of sub 1 GHz spectrum.
They told the agency the swap will enable T-Mobile to deploy the assigned spectrum using its existing facilities in the market, which will result in added capacity and increased data throughput speeds that will help improve network reliability and coverage in areas that include underserved rural locations.
The Commission also approved a separate purchase agreement involving the assignment of additional 600 MHz spectrum licenses from HTC to T-Mobile. T-Mobile would acquire 10 MHz of HTC’s 600 MHz spectrum in two counties in North Carolina. Post-transaction, T-Mobile would hold 390 MHz of spectrum, including 76 MHz of sub 1 GHz spectrum in those counties.
The companies told the FCC the transaction will provide T-Mobile with larger contiguous spectrum blocks in the 600 MHz bands, which will allow it to provide consumers with greater capacity, and allow T-Mobile to offer more efficient and reliable wireless broadband services in these counties. HTC asserts it will result in enhanced service offerings for HTC’s customers in rural and urban South Carolina.
The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics said in the decision that the likelihood of competitive harm is low and the swaps are in the public interest “such as the use of this spectrum for 5G services, resulting in enhanced network coverage, capacity, and performance to the benefit of American consumers.” EchoStar opposed the swap, but the agency said Echostar “failed to provide a sufficient basis for denying the applications.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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