By Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
T-Mobile is buying airwaves from Comcast in a deal valued at up to $3.3 billion. In a blog post on Comcast’s site, the company explains that it will sell spectrum in the 600MHz band as it is “unlikely” to need it.
Comcast announced plans to build out a 5G network for its Xfinity Mobile service last year using spectrum in the 600MHz band and CBRS — an unlicensed spectrum in the 3.5GHz range that companies can use for free. However, Comcast says 5G field tests with CBRS spectrum “exceeded” its expectations and that it’s “found the band to be highly efficient and a significant part of a 5G network.”
That’s why Comcast no longer sees a use for its 600MHz spectrum, which it says T-Mobile will lease to purchase. As part of the deal, T-Mobile…