LightShed Sees T-Mobile Spectrum Advantage Narrowing
The 3.45 GHz auction, which starts Tuesday, could hit $30 billion in proceeds, LightShed’s Walter Piecyk told investors Thursday. The analyst bases that estimate on an average price of $1.00 MHz/POP, which is less than the $1.10 paid for C-band…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
spectrum or the $1.82 bid in the recent Canadian auction of 3.5 GHz spectrum. AT&T and Verizon are likely to “both acquire the maximum allowable 40 MHz of spectrum for $12 billion each,” he said. The band has better propagation characteristics than C-band and was included in new iPhones starting last year, he said. “Operators will likely be able to deploy the new spectrum sooner than most of the C-Band, due to the multi-year clearing process of satellite operators.” Piecyk sees T-Mobile’s spectrum advantage narrowing. “T-Mobile’s 127 MHz spectrum depth lead over its closest competitor shrunk to 45 MHz following two FCC spectrum auctions,” he said: “Verizon can effectively eliminate this spectrum deficit altogether by integrating up to 80 MHz of General Access [citizens broadband radio service] spectrum into its network.”