T-Mobile may be prepping to expand its coverage by buying spectrum

News
By Michael Rougeau
published

T-Mobile is selling assets and accruing cash

Shakira T-mobile
Shakira performing at an 'un-carrier' event (that's how hip T-Mobile is)

T-Mobile has made a name for itself in a few ways, not least of them as the "uncarrier." But it's not known for its great coverage.

That could change if the carrier really is about to purchase a chunk of low frequency spectrum band from Verizon, as a report from November 28 suggested.

T-Mobile has been accruing cash assets, selling $1.8 billion of stock a few weeks ago and recently filing paperwork to sell $2 billion worth of bonds, according to Android Community.

And it looks like it might use that cash to buy a block of spectrum in the 700MHz A and B blocks from Verizon, as the Wall Street Journal reported it would earlier in November.

Widening the web

That spectrum is part of a chunk that Verizon is selling off as part of a deal it made with the FCC that allowed the carrier to purchase cable spectrum.

It's not a fast block of spectrum, so it won't do anything for T-Mobile's data speeds.

But it just might allow the carrier to improve its coverage, which would help its image compared to larger competitors AT&T and Verizon.

Of course, this is all hearsay for now. But expect to see more headlines about the "un-carrier" soon.

Michael Rougeau
Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.


Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.