A number of spectrum exchanges will also be conducted under the transaction, including transfers of spectrum to T-Mobile from Verizon. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead said the deal is "further evidence of the importance of a secondary spectrum market" that he says gives companies the flexibility to buy or sell spectrum to meet the changing needs of customers' wireless data services.

The swaps with T-Mobile will be used to add capacity to Verizon's 4G LTE network, he said.

Spectrum is a hot-button issue among the nation's top wireless carriers. The Alliance for Broadband Competition, a long-time adversary to Verizon's proposed spectrum deal with SpectrumCo, Cox and Leap, said in a statement on Monday that "while it's nice that Verizon will cede a small portion of its vast spectrum holdings to T-Mobile," it doesn't mitigate competition concerns.

There is only so much FCC-regulated spectrum to go around, which means wireless companies are often battling in auctions for a piece of the pie.