US Cellular said that it has successfully acquired 690 MHz of Millimeter Wave(mmWave) 5G Spectrum in a recent auction for $256.0 million, securing enough high-band 5G spectrum to cover 97% of its existing subscribers.
In the 28 GHz Auction (Auction 101), the company spent $129.4 million or 2.1 cents per MHz pop acquiring 408 licenses covering 60 percent of its subscriber base with at least 425 MHz of millimeter wave spectrum. In the 24 GHz Auction (Auction 102), the company spent $126.6 million or 1.5 cents per MHz pop acquiring 282 licenses covering 93 percent of its subscribers.
The Operator said that its initial 5G deployment will be on our 600 MHz spectrum to provide enhanced broadband speed and capacity over our entire footprint with the expectation that we will be able to augment it with mid and high band spectrum over time as the technology and use cases continue to evolve.
Kenneth R. Meyers, President and CEO, U.S. Cellular
With our success in the millimeter wave auctions, we can now cover most of our subscribers with at least 300 MHz of millimeter wave licenses which will enable U.S. Cellular to provide its customers with the leading edge capabilities 5G is promising.
Michael S. Irizarry, EVP and CTO, U.S. Cellular
As we continue our multi-year network modernization plan and increase the speed and performance of our network, we are readying our network with the foundational network elements to deliver innovative services for our customers.
