­T-Mobile USA has signed a US$2.4 billion deal with Crown Castle that lets the towers operator have sole rights to use and lease out 6,400 of T-Mobile's towers for the next 28 years. The deal also includes the sale of 800 towers to Crown Castle.

The payment of the $2.4 billion will be a single lump-sum once the deal is legally completed, which is expected by the end of this year.

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."

T-Mobile USA's nationwide network is currently present at around 51,000 sites of which the vast majority are leased from third parties.

The key part of these initiatives is the 4G network roll-out with investments worth around US$4 billion. It includes the modernization of 37,000 cell sites, the introduction of 4G/HSPA+ services in the 1900 MHz spectrum and the market launch of LTE 2013.

The assets and liabilities directly connected with the transaction are reported in the group balance sheet for the third quarter of 2012 as "held for sale." The net effect of the transaction will not impact adjusted EBITDA of 2012.