Verizon Seeks Approval to Buy Airwaves from Cable Companies

Verizon Communications

is close to being approved by the Federal Communications Commission ('FCC') to buy airwaves from cable companies. According to

, Verizon still has to convince the Justice Department that the potential deal will not lead to higher prices for consumers before approval is granted. The hearing comes after Verizon Wireless

last December to buy spectrum from cable providers Comcast

and Time Warner Cable

for roughly $3.9 billion. The deal is causing controversy, as mobile service providers are scrambling around for more spectrum to meet customer demand for large data services such as video streaming. With the hearing ongoing, Verizon announced that it would be delaying the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S III by two days. According to the

, the delay is only affecting the in-store launch, with pre-orders already shipped and - in some cases - in the hands of the customers. Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless announced that the Blackberry Curve will go on sale Thursday for $49.99 after rebate with a two-year service plan, starting with online sales. Verizon Communications has been busy, but it remains to be seen whether the cable deal goes through - and whether or not this proves to be a successful week for the company. Shares of Verizon Communications were trading at $44.79 at the time of posting, up 0.11 percent from Monday's market close.