T-Mobile has reached deals to buy spectrum licences from Verizon Wireless for $US2.37 billion ($A2.66 billion) in cash, allowing it to improve certain kinds of cellular service in markets across the US.
The agreements also include the transfer of other kinds of spectrum licences from T-Mobile to Verizon Wireless that the companies value at about $US950 million.
The deals, combined with T-Mobile's existing holdings, will give T-Mobile low-band spectrum in nine of the top 10 US markets.
Low-band spectrum boosts cellular coverage inside buildings and in rural areas. It also has the ability to travel greater distances than high-band spectrum, making it a more efficient way to provide coverage at the edge of cities and in less densely populated areas.
Combined with T-Mobile's existing holdings, the low-band spectrum will cover about 158 million people in US markets including New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Detroit.
T-Mobile USA, the No. 4 US carrier, is owned by Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG. It said it plans to roll out service and compatible phones as early as the fourth quarter of 2014. The deals are expected to close in mid-2014 and remain subject to regulatory approvals.
T-Mobile US Inc. shares rose 17 cents to $32.74 in premarket trading.
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