According to a statement, Comcast, Time Warner and Bright House Networks jointly own the wireless spectrum being sold to Verizon Wireless. Comcast owns 64 percent of the venture and would receive $2.3 billion from the deal with Verizon Wireless.
Comcast's stock was soaring in pre-market trading, and was up 2.13 percent, to $23.05, minutes after market trading opened.
Time Warner Cable Inc. owns 31.2 percent and is to receive about $1.1 billion; Bright House Networks L.L.C. owns 5.3 percent and would receive about $189 million.
Cable companies have long had ambitions to get into wireless, and some of them have linked up with Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. to offer service. Lately, there has been speculation that the cable companies would invest in ailing No. 3 and 4 carriers Sprint or T-Mobile USA to gain access to the wireless market.
The link-up with No. 1 carrier Verizon Wireless and the sale of the spectrum appears to preclude that kind of deal.
The agreement also calls for the cable companies and Verizon Wireless - a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone - to sell each other's offerings. They also have formed a joint technology venture to integrate wirelike and wireless services.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.
