T-Mobile, AT&T Begin Transfer of Spectrum

Oh the sweet (or bitter depending your affiliation) taste of failure. AT&T, after their failed takeover/acquisition/monopoly-building of T-Mobile, agreed to turn over a large package of AWS spectrum and $3 billion in cash to Deutsche Telekom. They have now filed with the FCC to begin the process of transferring that spectrum. The spectrum covers 128 Cellular Market Areas and is worth $1 billion.

Tom Sugrue, T-Mobile’s SVP for government affairs, told the Wall Street Journal that the “additional spectrum will help meet the growing demand for wireless broadband services” and that they “hope the FCC will move swiftly to approve the license assignments.”

The roaming agreement between the two carriers will be in effect for over seven years and will allow T-Mobile to expand its coverage by over 50 million potential customers to 280 million. This additional spectrum will provide T-Mobile customers with more 3G roaming coverage onto AT&T’s network as a result.

It doesn’t take much to realize who the real winners are in the failed transaction – the customers – and that is how it should be.