Justice Department to investigate Verizon's spectrum acquisitions

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Fresh off the case against AT&T's proposed purchase of T-Mobile, the Justice Department is flexing its investigative muscles in the wireless industry once again - this time to take a look at Verizon Wireless' recent spectrum acquisitions from cable companies.

Verizon Wireless has announced a slew of spectrum purchases recently, including a $3.6 billion purchase from Time Warner Cable, Comcast, and Bright House Networks and a $315 million buy from Cox Communications. Due to these large spectrum acquisitions, and the fact that Verizon already owns the licenses to an extensive amount of wireless spectrum, the Justice Department plans to investigate whether or not too much spectrum is in the hands of one company. It will also look at the deals made between Verizon and the cable companies to see if they violate any anti-trust laws.

Verizon says that it will use the acquired spectrum, which consists of both 700MHz and AWS bands, to further expand it 4G LTE network. Consumer advocates worry that the deals will turn market rivals into partners, and that the exit of cable companies from the wireless market will only give more power to Verizon. [via Bloomberg]