Verizon Communications Inc., the biggest wireless carrier in the US, will buy some of US Cellular Corp.’s spectrum licenses for $1 billion as the tower operator sheds parts of its portfolio.

U.S. Cellular entered an agreement to sell a portion of its retained spectrum licenses to Verizon for $1 billion in cash.

United States Cellular said on Friday it has agreed to sell some of its spectrum licenses to Verizon in a $1 billion deal. U.S. Cellular's shares jumped 3.9% in trading before the bell. The company will sell portion of its spectrum licenses used for mobile phone signals and high-speed data services to Verizon.