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Cable deal fought

T-Mobile asks FCC to block Verizon's deal

NEW YORK — T-Mobile USA, which just had its acquisition by AT&T blocked by regulators, is urging the federal government to block another deal in the wireless world: Verizon’s planned purchase of spectrum from cable companies for $3.9 billion.

In a filing late Tuesday, T-Mobile USA said the Federal Communications Commission should stop the deal between Verizon Wireless, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Cox Communications because it would place an “excessive concentration” of wireless spectrum in Verizon’s hands.

With more wireless spectrum, a phone company can raise download speeds and serve more data-hungry devices like smartphones and laptops with cellular broadband.

Verizon Wireless, the country’s No. 1 cell phone company, already has a relatively large amount of spectrum, while T-Mobile, the No. 4, does not.

MetroPCS Communications, the fifth-largest cell phone company, also urged the FCC to block the deal. It said the parties had not provided enough information to prove the acquisition was in the public interest.

Ten public-interest groups filed their own motions to block the deal on Tuesday, ahead of a filing deadline on Wednesday.

Sprint Nextel, the No. 3 carrier, took a more measured stance. It didn’t ask the FCC to block the deal outright, but said the agency should look closely at the wider implications of the deal, including the provision that Verizon Wireless and the cable companies market each other’s products in their stores.

The cross-marketing has already started in some areas.

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