© 2012 Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP & Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLP

Walter Reed Edwards Wildman Insight:

A Changing Landscape for Mobile Spectrum

The Spectrum Land Grab

Mobile carriers have been making strategic moves to acquire more

spectrum:

♦ Softbank announced plans to buy a 70% stake in Sprint.

(October 2012)

♦ T-Mobile agrees to merge with MetroPCS (October 2012)

♦ Verizon buys $120 million worth of spectrum from Leap

Wireless (August 2012)

2

WalterReedEdwardsWildman.com

The FCC Revaluates Spectrum Rules

♦ While spectrum limits exist for carriers, the FCC (as of September

2012) is considering new rules to limit share of “beachfront

spectrum.”

♦ “Beachfront spectrum” is highly sought-after. It travels farther and

passes more easily between buildings – making it highly profitable.

♦ FCC rules allowing smaller carriers more “beachfront spectrum”

heats up competition.

♦ Any FCC decision won’t be final for about a year.

WalterReedEdwardsWildman.com3

Walter Reed’s Take

♦ “As mobile device use skyrockets, mobile carriers will continue to

make strategic moves in order to acquire more spectrum, merging

with or buying stake in competitors if necessary.” – Walter Reed

♦ “As “beachfront spectrum” becomes more important, in order to

meet the 4G speeds consumers demand, new FCC rules will

become essential in order for smaller carriers to stay competitive.”

– Walter Reed

4

WalterReedEdwardsWildman.com

Walter Reed’s Spectrum Blog Posts

5

♦ For more spectrum insight from Walter Reed, Partner at Edwards

Wildman, please see the following blog posts, on

WalterReedEdwardsWildmanInsight.com:

♦ Edwards Wildman Insight - The Changing Landscape of the

Mobile Market

♦ Walter Reed Insight - The Spectrum Battle Continues

♦ Walter Reed Analyzes FCC’s Spectrum Allocation Rules

WalterReedEdwardsWildman.com

© 2012 Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP & Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLP

For more information on Walter Reed,

please visit:www.WalterReedEdwardsWildman.com