T-Mobile said the FCC has granted the spectrum licenses it successfully bid on in the broadcast incentive auction, which means it can start planning how to use it.
The company has already signaled it would like to start lighting up some of that new mobile wireless broadband spectrum as early as the end of this year, with testing beginning this summer.
"With the spectrum transfer complete, the real fun begins. Despite the cries from skeptics, T-Mobile has already kicked off deployment activities and will see the first sites ready for testing this summer," the company said. "This timeline—well ahead of expectations—sets the stage for commercial operations later this year. That’s when new 600 MHz smartphones from leading smartphone manufacturers are anticipated to arrive. T-Mobile has been working closely with the FCC and broadcasters and expects more than 1 million square miles of 600 MHz spectrum the Un-carrier owns to be clear and ready for deployment by year end."
T-Mobile was the biggest winner in the auction, bidding $8 billion for 1,525 licenses.
The FCC had accepted T-Mobile's application May 18, meaning it had paid in full and the applications were complete.
