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AT&T and T-Mobile apply for $1B spectrum transfer with FCC

Posted: , by Michael H.

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AT&T and T-Mobile apply for $1B spectrum transfer with FCC
It was expected to happen, because it was part of the breakup agreement between AT&T and Deutsche Telekom in the event that the deal to acquire T-Mobile went sour, but AT&T and T-Mobile have now officially filed to transfer $1 billion worth of spectrum from AT&T to T-Mobile USA.

The application will transfer AWS spectrum from AT&T to T-Mobile, which would effectively extend the T-Mobile 3G coverage quite a bit. The paperwork has been submitted to the FCC and, not surprisingly, T-Mobile is hoping to see the FCC approve the application as soon as possible.

As any T-Mobile customer can attest, 3G coverage is quite spotty once you get too far from a metropolitan area, so with luck this deal will help cover those gaps. This transfer of spectrum will be accompanied by a $3 billion breakup fee that AT&T also agreed to pay Deutsche Telekom in the even the acquisition deal fell through.

source: WSJ via BGR

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1. edwerito posted on 23 Jan 2012, 20:35 2 6

Is Tmobile the only one benefiting from all this or is ATT gonna gain something too??

FIRST

3. Socalvenom posted on 23 Jan 2012, 20:46 7 1

T-mobile came up with both spectrum and money while AT&T advertises their LTE 4g network T-mobile will keep on adjusting their Hspa+ network that will be faster then AT&T's LTE in six months and have better coverage and still be cheaper remember that. To answer your question AT&T gains nothing just looses

4. LoneShaolin posted on 23 Jan 2012, 20:47

Yup. T-Mo came up on it.

6. edwerito posted on 23 Jan 2012, 20:52 2

Despite being an at&t customer, I'm happy for T-Mobile because it makes better competition and hopefully this spectrum with the better coverage will help them to gain customers every quarter instead of losing.

7. JGuinan007 posted on 23 Jan 2012, 21:08 3 1

It doesn't make T-mo a better competitor it makes more money for their parent company DT with more assets to sell off T-mo is still for sale and no one is buying so DT will be slowly selling off bits of T-mo so maybe smaller companies will buy or until they sell off all of T-mo everyone loses except DT share holders

10. bigdawg23 posted on 24 Jan 2012, 05:44 1 1

You apparently have never experienced LTE. Having a Skyrocket and using LTE, I can assure you, with screen shots to prove it, T-MO HSPA+ can not compete with the speed.

13. remixfa posted on 24 Jan 2012, 07:05 3

BD,
Right now Tmobile HSPA+ is capable of 42mb/s. The plan is to have it double to 84mb/s by fall. That is faster than any LTE on the market right now. Dont get caught up in the name hype. blind speed tests show they can run similar speeds on the average.

14. Galen20K posted on 24 Jan 2012, 09:18 3

remixfa is correct, HSPA+42 can definitely meet or exceed current LTE real world speeds and when they transition to HSPA+84 it'll be no contest. Quit hating just because you're not a fan of the quick yet battery efficient technology.

15. jcrally17 posted on 24 Jan 2012, 10:43 1

So you are getting better than 15 mbs on a consistent bases?
If so, thats great! If not, I will stick with my SII on T-MO HSPA+, which avg's 10-15mbs & tops out around 21mbs on a regular basis.

5. e.wvu (unregistered) posted on 23 Jan 2012, 20:49 3

Why should AT&T benefit for this? They made the agreement that if the deal were to fail that they will have to pay the break-up fee. For that, they did the agreement.

9. Tarkio posted on 24 Jan 2012, 01:41 1

I think they were asking if there was some benefit to att that wasn't obvious. For example, att being able to ditch spectrum they weren't using but had to pay tax on or something (that was just a made up example)

12. e.wvu (unregistered) posted on 24 Jan 2012, 06:50

Yea, you're probably right on that.

2. LoneShaolin posted on 23 Jan 2012, 20:44 1

Looks like T-Mo is the only benficiary, although the tower sale looks ominous for them

8. simplyj posted on 23 Jan 2012, 21:16 1

hopefully this mean we can use at&t 3g on tmo!

11. quesoesgrande posted on 24 Jan 2012, 06:47 1

Thats great but I've never even seen the 3g marker on my sensation
Thatt probably explains why "4g" speeds are so much slower than on my moms sidekick

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