Summary
T-Mobile USA needs new spectrum for LTE deployments. Clearwire and MetroPCS can both help meet this need, but in different ways.
Analysis
The most reasonable relationships between T-Mobile USA and Clearwire and MetroPCS respectively are different. Clearwire might be interested in selling 2.5GHz spectrum (it holds about 120MHz on average) to T-Mobile that can be configured to permit the latter's deployment of FDD LTE, subject to avoiding interference with Clearwire's own TDD WiMAX networks in the same band, while raising more funds for its own operations.. Any other arrangement in which T-Mobile might get involved in Clearwire's (or Sprint Nextel's) business would be a can of worms . As for MetroPCS, given its new commitment to LTE and its AWS plus a limited amount (Boston) of 700MHz spectrum holdings, a partnership or sharing of LTE investments with T-Mobile in some areas of the country would be mutually beneficial
This author consults with leading institutions through GLG
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
