Verizon Wireless’s buy of spectrum from the cable companies (CD...

blog. “To justify its continued buying binge, Verizon claims that it is one of the most efficient carriers in the world, and that it is two-times more efficient than T-Mobile,” Sharkey wrote (http://xrl.us/bm2psg). “It doesn’t take long to find the flaws in Verizon’s claim. Here’s why: First, Verizon’s analysis divides the carriers’ nationwide total subscribers by a nationwide average amount of spectrum. But mixing an absolute number of subscribers against a broad average of spectrum produces a pointless number. Because spectrum holdings and market share vary dramatically on a market-by-market basis, any meaningful analysis must be done at that level.” Second, Verizon “includes spectrum in its calculation to which T-Mobile does not yet have access, making T-Mobile’s average appear lower,” Sharkey said. Also, “as Verizon acknowledges, not all wireless users place equal demands on the network and smartphones use approximately 35 times the data of feature phones.” T-Mobile has a higher percentage of smartphone users on its network than does Verizon, he said. Finally, Verizon doesn’t take into account that much of its spectrum is below 1 GHz, “which is considerably more efficient at providing coverage and capacity than spectrum above 1 GHz,” Sharkey said. “All of T-Mobile’s spectrum is in the higher bands above 1 GHz.” In the final analysis, T-Mobile uses spectrum more efficiently than Verizon, he contended. “Especially with the recent demise of our deal with AT&T, T-Mobile needs the right spectrum resources to remain a competitive force,” Sharkey wrote. “The spectrum Verizon is seeking to acquire from the cable companies is uniquely situated to facilitate and expand T-Mobile’s LTE deployment. T-Mobile has a history of buying spectrum and immediately using it -- not buying it to bank it. After the 2006 FCC AWS, auction, we actively cleared a dozen incumbent federal government agencies from the 1.7 GHz band in record time to make way for 3G and 4G services. T-Mobile’s record stands in stark contrast to Verizon’s approach of buying large quantities of spectrum and letting it sit idle -- in the case of AWS for five and a half years and counting.” A Verizon spokesman disagreed. “In its filings at the FCC, Verizon has made a strong case that it is in the public interest to get SpectrumCo’s previously unused spectrum into the hands of consumers,” the spokesman said. “We have also addressed and refuted the claims made by T-Mobile.”