DOJ Approves SpectrumCo Deal

Cable ops, Verizon Wireless agree to conditions

By Mike Farrell, Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/16/2012 12:16:57 PM

A quartet of cable operators received approval from the U.S. Department of Justice on its $3.9 billion sale of wireless spectrum to Verizon Wireless, but not without a few concessions.

Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks agreed in December to sell their 122 Advanced Wireless Spectrum licenses -- held in a separate entity called SpectrumCo -- to Verizon, a deal that also included a landmark co-marketing agreement between the cable operators and the wireless giant, for $3.6 billion.

Separately, Cox Communications also agreed to sell its AWS spectrum to Verizon for $325 million.

The licenses, first purchased by SpectrumCo for $2.4 billion in the federal AWS auctions in 2006, cover 259 million people across the country.

That part of the deal was the source of some concern from competitors many of whom filed objections to the deal after it was announced.

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