Verizon Wireless pays $3.6 bn for spectrum

US cellphone giant Verizon Wireless will pay $3.6 billion to buy spectrum from Comcast and two other communications groups, a move that will bring it new paths to access 259 million consumers. Verizon Wireless, the largest US cellphone carrier, will pick up 122 advanced spectrum licenses from SpectrumCo LLC, a joint venture of three major cable television-Internet-land line service providers -- Comcast, TimeWarner and Bright House Networks, the companies said in a statement. The four companies also said that they have agreed to cross-sell each other's products on their networks, a crucial move as consumers increasingly use wireless networks to access streaming entertainment like movies and television. Verizon Wireless said the purchase will allow it to expand its newest generation 4G LTE wireless service, "Spectrum is the raw material on which wireless networks are built, and buying the AWS spectrum now solidifies our network leadership into the future," said Dan Mead, president and chief executive of Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications and Britain's Vodafone. "We're excited to be able to offer the nation's best wireless services to our customers and to have Verizon Wireless as a sales channel for our superb wireline services," said Time Warner Cable president Rob Marcus.