AT&T Inc. announced Thursday that it has completed successful bids for prime B Block spectrum in the FCC auction. Combined with the Aloha Partners transaction, which closed earlier this year, AT&T has supplemented its holding of high-quality spectrum and continues to have a leading spectrum position in the industry, the company said in a statement.
AT&T’s spectrum holdings position the company to further enhance the quality and reliability of existing wireless broadband and voice services while also setting the foundation for more customer choices for new, more advanced wireless broadband technologies and services.
The complementary nature of the spectrum AT&T acquired through the FCC auction and from Aloha Partners gives AT&T the capacity to meet customer needs as the company moves to higher-speed 4G (fourth-generation) services. Upon final award of the auctioned B Block spectrum, AT&T’s 700 MHz spectrum will cover 100% of the top 200 markets and 87% of the U.S. population, enabling the company to better compete in a vibrant and dynamic marketplace.
“Results of the auction bidding demonstrate the B Block was the most attractive, most valuable spectrum available, and it was the best investment for AT&T and our customers,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T’s wireless unit, in the press release.
“Our winning bids for B-Block spectrum, combined with the C-Block spectrum we acquired from Aloha Partners, significantly enhances AT&T’s spectrum portfolio, which is already one of the broadest, highest-quality and most efficient in the industry,” de la Vega said. The C-Block spectrum AT&T acquired from Aloha Partners is not subject to the same strict regulations imposed on the C Block spectrum that the FCC recently auctioned.
“With fewer costly and complex regulations, we have the certainty and flexibility needed to move faster in rolling out new mobile technology and more customer choices in devices and applications,” de la Vega said. “We will put our spectrum to work so that customers can do more with their wireless devices, the user experience is superb, and wireless connectivity can be embedded in more devices.”
Wireless broadband traffic on the AT&T network has quadrupled every year since 2004, as customers have taken advantage of faster broadband speeds and emerging wireless applications ranging from live video sharing to social networking and business applications.
“From the beginning, our wireless network has been designed for customer choice and with the future in mind,” said de la Vega. “Our applications program includes thousands of developers who are creating innovative applications for AT&T’s wireless devices today. And looking even further into the future, our existing technologies are ideal for a smooth transition to next-generation platforms.”
In the future, AT&T’s 700 MHz spectrum holdings will provide the foundation for deployment of next-generation wireless broadband platforms such as HSPA+ and LTE. While standards for emerging technologies such as LTE are still being developed, these technologies could enable peak broadband speeds of 100 Mbps or more.
AT&T currently plans to deliver AT&T 3G services to nearly 350 leading U.S. markets by the end of 2008, including all of the top 100 cities. The 3G initiative will include the rollout of more than 1,500 additional cell sites nationwide. The company also will complete the nation’s first High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA)-enabled network by the middle of the year. This advanced network delivers typical downlink speeds ranging between 600 and 1,400 kilobits per second (Kbps), as well as faster uplink speeds ranging from 500 and 800 kilobits per second (Kbps).
Source: AT&T
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Gary M.” for the heads up.]
And the B spectrum is something they can charge for, right? Nice move AT&T;
@ ericdano;
Nothing in the article substantiates your innuendo, however, MOST people understand that you “pay more to receive more”.
Last time I checked, BMW charges more for their M3 sedan than Ford does for their Ka.
Nice move, eric.
(mw england. Hey! I’ve been to England… how did they know?)
No, the point was that the spectrum that Verizon bought, that one is supposed to be opened to everyone. IE: Free. Right? But AT&T;bought another spectrum that they will, 99% likely charge for. So, exactly does the B one do that C doesn’t? Is it faster? Are we going to get MORE?
Uhm, correct me if I’m wrong, but I didn’t realize that the C block that Google was able to lobby open access rules on, was “free”. I thought that it meant that others would have open access to those frequencies by licensing. Does open access mean free? If it means free, then why bid at all?
Yea, my pappy taught me a long time ago that nothings free.
chaz
Thanks for the free advice….
And yet I still can’t get a signal for my iPhone in my city…
And as I go the 4 miles to work, there are two dead spots with no cell signal available. So I’m curious: how will AT&T’s spectrum purchase help fill in the access coverage holes all over the non-metro areas of the US? I wonder what the plan is for that…
entitlement mentality.
Everyone assumes they can do better when they don’t know the first thing about running a nationwide cellular network.
Am I not entitled to use of my iPhone from my home IN THE CITY?
Methinks AT&T;doesn’t know how to run a cellular network. 5 bars, my ASS!
“entitlement mentality.
Everyone assumes they can do better when they don’t know the first thing about running a nationwide cellular network.”
you keep using those words. i don’t think they mean what you think they mean……
meanwhile, will be funny if Apple never releases a 3G iPhone and moves right on to a faster speed. watch the other phone makes drop a brick. too funny.
Video conferencing via the iPhone is coming people!!!
@shen-“will be funny if Apple never releases a 3G iPhone and moves right on to a faster speed.”
That’s what I’ve hoping for, and so Jobsian. Just leapfrog to 4G and head to the front of the pack. Unfortunately, I don’t think Apple or ATT are ready for that yet.
Entitlement mentality – I started downloading free music from Napster and I’m always going to get my music for free from P2P networks. Music is part of the human experience and no one should put a price on it or make a profit from it. Music should be free.
While we’re at it food, clothing and housing should be provided for all humans as well. Fuck birth control.
While we’re at it food, clothing and housing should be provided for all humans as well.
You provide, I’ll take. Deal?
And yes, ban birth control. You can provide for all my children as well.
@ericdano,
The C block that Verizon bought will not be free to access. Open access means that Verizon cannot make it a walled garden (i.e., you have to use Verizon’s search service, music service, video/TV service, etc), but instead Internet Web services (like Google’s) will be accessible through their network. The consumer (you) still has to pay to get on their network.
The open access restriction was not placed on the spectrum that AT&T;bought, though AT&T;has indicated that they would voluntarily make their network open to Internet Web services.
@ Big Al:
You can’t possibly be serious. Everything you wrote was complete and utter nonsense.
“The C-Block spectrum AT&T;acquired from Aloha Partners…”
will prove to be the better buy.
AT&T;will take the lessons learned from fleshing out services of B-block spectrum and apply them to their C-Block acquisition; the same way an artist practices on the cheap stuff before committing anything to the premium material.
Or not.
They could sit on their C-Block (Aloha) acquisition with all legal restrictions locked in place, wherein grandfathering becomes a weapon in AT&Ts;legal arsenal against further regulation from the feds.
Can’t tax nor regulate what you can’t see.
Once they have exhausted all revenue streams (toll booths) for the B-block spectrum and when the legal skirmishes between AT&T;and the government has twisted the service into another pretzel (wall garden), AT&T;will begin promoting Paradise Lost; C-block will be unveiled in a decade as the expressway to the beach.
Unfortunately, G4Dualle, that sounds about right.
Effing telcos. When will the bureaucrats realize that they (telcos) are crippling our nation in the worldwide technology market?
Finally… Do you think this is fast enough to get into video conversation on cell phones now?
Around the time AT&T;gets their new network built out, their exclusive arrangement with Apple for the iPhone will be expiring. After that, I expect that Apple will make the iPhone available through any carrier.
@logan
US Telcos ‘crippling our nation in the worldwide technology market?’
Gee, I have FiOS at home… I have fiber coming directly into my home… I can choose up to 50 Mbps downlink at reasonable cost (I have 5 Mbps uplink and 20 Mbps at an even cheaper cost!)
Gee, and all this brought to me by…. tadaa! Verizon!
HOW MANY countries around the world can I get that?????
As a matter of fact, the EU has started looking at what Verizon is doing in the US w/ TRUE broadband access to the home and they view this as a competitive advantage for the USA (as reported in the Financial Times – but you probably don’t know what that is either!)
THINK before you speak.. Jeez!
@Ben Dover
You need to see what’s happening in Asia, especially South Korea and Japan, before you speak about the quality of US broadband. And same with regard to cellular – google Tomi Ahonen. The US is far from being a leader in terms of providing infrastructure technology to consumers and homes.
AT&T;’s service is horrible. They treat customers like yesterday’s garbage for which they only have disdain. Speaking not just for me, but for others, they lie. They disregard what “customer service” reps promise customers. One hand doesn’t know what the other is doing. Other cell services may be bad, but AT&T;is worse.
Other than that, it sounds like their technology is moving in the right direction.