Charter Communications Expresses Interest in Verizon Wireless Alliance: Bloomberg

Verizon Wireless may be the hot company to forge spectrum deals with.

Charter Communications CEO Michael Lovett said the St. Louis-based cable company may be interested in forging an agreement with Verizon Wireless, according to Bloomberg. No other details were released regarding the plan, and Charter spokeswoman Anita Lamont couldn't immediately comment on the matter to the International Business Times.

Charter provides service to more than 5 million customers in more than 25 states, according to its 2010 annual report. It generated approximately $7 billion in revenue in 2010.

Last week, Verizon Wireless announced plans to acquire wireless spectrum for $3.6 billion from SpectrumCo LLC, a joint venture between Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House. Comcast will receive approximately 2.3 billion from the deal, Time Warner will receive approximately $1.1 billion and Bright House will receive approximately $189 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, SpectrumCo will provide wireless service under Verizon's network, while Verizon Wireless can sell cable company services in its stores. Also, SpectrumCo will stop selling services from Clearwire in approximately six months, although an exact date hasn't been given. Customers currently receiving Clearwire will continue to receive service.

Then on Monday, Verizon Wireless and Leap Wireless announced a spectrum swap, where Leap Wireless will acquire a block of spectrum in Chicago for $204 million, while Verizon will obtain spectrum in a variety of U.S. markets for $188 million.

Verizon Wireless is a joint venture between New-York based Verizon Communications and London-based Vodafone, with the companies owning a 55 percent stake and 45 percent stake, respectively.

With the increasing demand for data on smartphones, wireless carriers have faced a shortage of spectrum, which is the frequenices that a company can transmit signal through. These wireless companies are looking toward using unused spectrum from cable companies, independent telecommunications analyst Jeff Kagan told the IBTimes.

He said many cable companies, such as Comcast, Time Warner and Qwest, had high hopes that they could thrive in the wireless industry, which led them to purchase spectrum they haven't used.

Wireless carriers are also looking toward other wireless carriers to build up spectrum. The need for more spectrum was a major driver in AT&T's attempted acquisition of T-Mobile USA for $39 billion.

Shares of Charter are up 1.15 percent to $52.64 at late-morning trading. Shares of Verizon are up 0.76 percent to $38.34.