As expected, T-Mobile--the fourth-largest U.S. mobile carrier--will announce plans today to deploy a third-generation wireless network. The Deutsche Telekom carrier recently came out of the FCC
spectrum auction with the biggest and most expensive share of the spoils, paying $4.2 billion for new licenses. This means the company is serious about moving into the U.S. market. In the past,
T-Mobile has lagged behind its American-based counterparts, like Cingular and Verizon, constrained by its lack of spectrum. T-Mobile is the only U.S. carrier without a high-speed 3G network. Analysts
believe it will cost the company more than $3 billion over the next two and a half years to build it. High-speed networks attract higher-value business customers, including those with mobile data
services, like video. Meanwhile, a consortium of cable companies called SpectrumCo, which is led by Comcast, indicated that it would begin testing wireless services using some of the $2.37 billion
worth of spectrum it purchased during the FCC auction. Its licenses cover major metro areas, like New York, L.A., and Chicago. The consortium includes Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications
and Sprint Nextel.
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