T-Mobile USA has struck a deal giving towers firm Crown Castle "the sole right to use and lease out" 7,200 of the operator’s wireless communication towers.

The US$2.4 billion deal will comprise the 'lease-leaseback' of 6,400 towers and the sale of a further 800 owned by Deutsche Telekom's US subsidiary. The deal is expected to close in Q4 and will last for approximately 28 years, with Crown Castle having an option to buy the towers outright at the end of the period. 

T-Mobile USA will continue to house its network equipment on these towers and thus lease back the required capacity from Crown Castle. T-Mobile USA will pay an annual lease rate for the duration of the agreement. Previously unused facilities will thus be available for lease by third parties.

"We have found an intelligent way to strengthen T-Mobile USA among competitors and reduce the group’s net debt at the same time," said Deutsche Telekom CFO Timotheus Höttges. "This is part of our financial strategy that clearly follows the principle of making forward-looking investments while ensuring sound and stable balance sheet ratios."

As well as reducing debt, proceeds from the deal will also be used to fund T-Mobile’s US$4 billion 4G investment programme. This includes the modernisation of 37,000 cell sites, ahead of the expected launch of LTE in 2013.

“Our agreement with T-Mobile strengthens our position as the largest provider of shared wireless infrastructure in the US, which we believe is the largest, fastest growing and most profitable wireless market in the world,” added Ben Moreland, Crown Castle’s CEO.

Crown Castle talked up the 'urban-centric' nature of T-Mobile’s US towers portfolio, claiming that 83 percent were in the top 100 US markets and 72 percent in the top 50.