Verizon/SpectrumCo Deal on Thursday Track

Order will be essentially identical to Justice settlement with addition of data roaming requirement

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/22/2012 6:33:41 PM

The latest word on the FCC's release of the Verizon/SpectrumCo order, which has already been approved by a 5-0 vote, is that it will be Thursday before it is released.

The FCC is okaying Verizon's proposed purchase of $3.9 billion worth of spectrum from cable operators Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox and Bright House, as well as from Leap Wireless. The order also approves Verizon's deal to spin off some of that spectrum to T-Mobile and in fact makes that spin-off a condition of the deal.

That spectrum had been essentially fallow after cable ops said they had concluded there was not a business plan in building out a competing wireless net.

According to a highly placed source, the order is essentially the same as the Justice settlement announced two weeks ago, with the addition of a five-year data roaming condition that requires Verizon to abide by the FCC's data roaming order even if Verizon wins its lawsuit against the order in court. Justice has already said it is OK with the T-Mobile spectrum spinoff.