AT&T announced it will acquire licenses for Verizon’s 700MHz spectrum, which would allow AT&T to expand its 4G LTE coverage to 42 million people across 18 states in the U.S. The carrier will spend $1.9 billion to acquire the licenses from Verizon. AT&T will also provide licenses of its AWS spectrum to Verizon in markets including Los Angeles, Fresno and Portland in order for Verizon to further deploy its own network.

“This 700MHz band was originally used to broadcast analog TV channels, but now that Verizon uses digital technology for its TV services the spectrum has been up for auction since 2008,” reports Digital Trends. “During that auction Verizon and U.S. Cellular won Block A, which contained licenses covering urban areas. AT&T, however, acquired a whopping 227 licenses when it purchased Block B through the auction.”

Verizon explained why it opted to give up the extra licenses. “During the 2008 auction, the carrier picked up 127 licenses in Block B, which are involved in its current sale with AT&T,” notes the article. “Until now, Verizon had used these licenses to provide supplemental coverage in urban areas before it had acquired other licenses that would cover holes in its nationwide network. This, however, means that it would make sense for AT&T to acquire these licenses, since its exactly what Verizon needs to continue deploying its own LTE network.”

In November, AT&T announced its goal to reach 300 million U.S. consumers with its 4G LTE network by the close of 2014.

According to a statement from AT&T, the states affected by the current deal include California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.