Leap Wireless, T-Mobile Reach Spectrum-Exchange Deal
Leap Wireless International said Monday that it agreed to license exchange agreements with T-Mobile USA that will give the pay-as-you-go carrier expanded broadband spectrum in Phoenix and several Texas markets.
In exchange T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom, will gain additional spectrum in some markets in Alabama, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The deal also involves exchanges with Leap's noncontrolled, majority-owned venture Savary Island Wireless and T-Mobile's joint venture with Cook Inlet.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The moves support Leap and T-Mobile's planned deployment of long-term evolution (LTE) technology, or 4G, the latest mobile data network standard that phone companies are rushing to adopt.
Leap aims to cover about two-thirds of its current network footprint with LTE technology over the next two to three years.
T-Mobile, the fourth-largest carrier in the US, plans to spend $4 billion over the next several years to upgrade its network, rolling out so-called 4G LTE technology in 2013.
Leap shares closed Thursday at $8.42 and were inactive premarket. Markets were closed Friday for Good Friday. The stock has lost nearly half its value in the past year.
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