T-Mobile picks up NextWave spectrum

NextWave Wireless has found buyers for at least some of its spectrum. Today it announced it is selling advanced wireless service (AWS) licenses to four separate carriers for a $150.1 million, the largest of which is T-Mobile.

According to NextWave’s filing with the SEC, NextWave spectrum subsidiary AWS Wireless will sell 59 economic area and metro area licenses in 19 states, as well as regional licenses covering all of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin islands for $97.5 million. T-Mobile is deploying a nationwide 3G network on the AWS bands and will likely use the spectrum to augment its network outside of its core large city footprint.

Most of the licenses are for small and mid-sized markets—hence their relatively cheap sale price—in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas and California. The most significant licenses were a 10 MHz license covering New Orleans, a 20 MHz licenses covering Pittsburgh and a 20 MHz license in Sacramento—all with metro areas encompassing more than a million in population—but most of the licenses were for much smaller communities.

The SEC filing also identified the remaining three buyers: MetroPCS, Atlantic Wireless and ACS Wireless though it did not offer many details of the transaction. The total purchase price in the three sales will be $52.6 million, and will divvy up licenses in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio, Alaska, Georgia and Florida between the three operators. MetroPCS and fellow CDMA AWS operator Leap Wireless have long been pegged as potential buyers of NextWave’s spectrum due to their own aggressive expansion plans. Metro is currently building out an AWS network in major markets on the east coast. Metro launched service in Philadelphia last month last month with service in Boston and New York expected to follow soon.