GeoLinks Buys Verizon Spectrum

 Telecommunications company GeoLinks will acquire 208 local multipoint distribution band spectrum licenses from Verizon Communications Inc.Financial terms of the deal between GeoLinks in Camarillo and Verizon in New York were not disclosed.

Phillip Deneef, chief strategy officer at the Ventura County telecom, said in an interview with the Business Journal that the acquisition is a big step in the company’s growth. As a fixed wireless provider, owning its own spectrum is something it has strived for, Deneef said.

“It gives us the most flexibility to deploy large circuits and keep our same speed of delivery,” he added.  The transaction must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission. Assuming it does, GeoLinks will become the largest holder of local multipoint distribution service licenses in the 29 gigahertz to 31gigahertz bands.

The company is hoping that the FCC acts quickly on its approval of the deal, Deneef said, adding, “We hope to see it within 60 to 90 days max.”Markets in the transaction take in more than 17 U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Detroit, St. Louis and Indianapolis.  GeoLinks Chief Executive Skyler Ditchfield said the acquisition will allow the company to achieve higher data speeds over longer distances.

“With this deal, we will control our own airwaves and have the ability to provide gigabit and multi-gigabit speeds at lower prices and with fiber-like latency and jitter statistics to our customer base across these markets,” Ditchfield said in a statement.

Deneef said that Verizon went through a request for proposal process to sell the millimeter wave spectrum licenses.

“I believe that with our profile and our history they felt confident we were going to be able to make the best use of these circuits. They put them in the hands of an operator as opposed to another investor spectrum holder so that we can continue to do our work closing the digital divide,” Deneef said.

Having the licenses will make it easier for GeoLinks to serve rural and underserved markets.

“Thanks to this acquisition, we will be able to deliver superior solutions to existing carriers in the largest cities in the U.S., expand service in suburban areas and bring connectivity to more underserved markets,” Ditchfield said in his statement. “We will also be able to further expand our closing of the digital divide in rural markets.”