‘ Lease to acquire’ plan permits Comcast a window to recover the airwaves
Comcast is feeling so positive about its capability to use the CBRS band for mobile 5G services that it wants to let its 600 MHz licenses go, in a $3.3 billion spectrum “lease-to-purchase” contract with T-Mobile United States.
” Our 5G network field tests with CBRS spectrum have actually surpassed our expectations and we have actually discovered the band to be extremely effective and a substantial part of a 5G network. This strong CBRS spectrum efficiency has actually made us recognize that we are not likely to require the 600 MHz spectrum licenses that we presently hold to support our cordless clients,” composed Tom Nagel, Comcast’s SVP of cordless technique, in a article “As an outcome, we just recently participated in a contract with T-Mobile in which it will rent and ultimately acquire our licenses in the 600 MHz band.
Comcast has actually seen substantial development in its customer and organization cordless customer base over current years, including more than 6 million cordless lines in 6 years to develop what Nagel called “an effective multi-billion-dollar profits organization with a long runway for future development.”
He likewise mentioned that about 90% of Comcast’s mobile clients’ information use comes through Wi-Fi, instead of cellular. “Hosting the majority of our clients’ mobile information traffic on our own Wi-Fi network develops substantial cost savings and allows us to continue to use competitive prices,” he composed.
Still, Comcast has long had an eye on mobile cellular abilities and as part of its expedition of assembling a 5G network, it purchased CBRS concern gain access to licenses (Friends) along with some airwaves in the 600 MHz band. The spectrum is recently being taken into live client use: Comcast has actually been carrying out CBRS tests with its staff members, however this month, Philadelphia clients of its Xfinity Mobile and Comcast Company Mobile services will begin linking to a brand-new, Comcast 5G network for the very first time, as RCR reported here. Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of the business, stated in remarks at Goldman Sachs Communicopia + Tech conference stated that Comcast has actually computed that 60% of its network traffic originates from simply 3% of its location.
The outcomes that Comcast has actually been seeing from its CBRS screening have actually been excellent enough that the business wants to offer its 600 MHz block– a single, 10-megahertz license in many markets, Nagel stated– to T-Mobile United States. It will be a steady procedure, where T-Mobile United States is very first able to utilize the spectrum and will make quarterly lease payments appropriately, at the end of the leasing plan, it will have the ability to acquire the license for $3.3 billion. That’s not anticipated to occur till 2028, and Comcast likewise has actually an alternative constructed into the plan that will permit it to keep the spectrum in some markets if it alters its mind in the meantime.
” T-Mobile is currently a user of 600 MHz spectrum, so it makes good sense for us to participate in this ‘lease to acquire’ plan so that they can put this spectrum to utilize in brief order,” Nagel composed. Comcast, he stated, will continue to check making use of 600 MHz in Philly, and “if our point of view modifications, we have actually protected the alternative to recover the 600 MHz spectrum within our markets, offering us outstanding optionality if we require it in the future.”
While Comcast is beginning with its use of 5G CBRS in Philadelphia, Nagel included that the plan is “one that we might release to other markets where it makes great organization sense.”