While AT&T is fighting to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion, Verizon Wireless just swept in and made a deal with cable companies to buy 20 MHz of spectrum for $3.6 billion.

SpectrumCo, the joint venture between Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks – yes, the same group in business with Clearwire – agreed to sell their AWS licenses to Verizon – licenses they had bought for $2.4 billion back in 2006. So, the cable companies get a pretty penny for their licenses, which weren’t being used anyway, and they will say good-bye to Clearwire and start selling Verizon Wireless’ service. In four years, the cable companies have the option of becoming MVNOs, selling Verizon’s wireless under their own brands.

None of this is expected to solve the long-term spectrum needs of Verizon Wireless, which has been standing by mostly as an impartial observer in the AT&T/T-Mobile merger fights. But the cable deal and another one revealed earlier this week with Cricket  show the operator has been up to some strategic deal-making while the cat’s away.

The FCC still needs to approve the deals. On the AT&T/T-Mobile matter, the FCC was very clear in the staff report released this week that they believe T-Mobile is a competitive, disruptive force that needs to continue to exist. One way T-Mobile might do that is by partnering with the cable companies, but Verizon’s deal would seem to eliminate that possibility. Most likely, those in favor of the Verizon/Comcast, et al, deal could argue (and already are) that it puts unused spectrum into the hands of a company that can put it to good use in a timely manner.

The deal also puts a stick in the eye of Sprint because the cable companies will stop reselling Clearwire’s service and Sprint is majority owner of Clearwire. But then again, it probably comes as no surprise if the cable companies haven’t exactly been adding customers in droves by using Clearwire’s network.

The jury’s still out on whether the cable companies will be successful in selling Verizon Wireless services, but they’re not giving up. Maybe this time around it will work out for them.