FCC: "AT&T's AWS spectrum transfer to T-Mobile: Approved"

[terryjohnson16]

http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/article...ectrumTransfer

[top]Statement: Transfer of Spectrum from AT&T to
T-Mobile Approved by FCC

[top]New Spectrum a Catalyst for T-Mobile’s Plans to Launch LTE in 2013

Bellevue, Wash. — Apr. 25, 2012


2012-04-25 12:40:35 This week, the FCC approved the transfer of AWS spectrum licenses from AT&T to T-Mobile USA, agreed to as part of the breakup of the proposed merger between the two companies. This transfer provides T-Mobile with a large package of valuable AWS mobile spectrum in 128 Cellular Market Areas (CMAs), including 12 of the top 20 markets.

“We applaud the FCC for acting swiftly to approve the transfer of these spectrum licenses,” said Neville Ray, chief technology officer, T-Mobile USA. “Securing this additional spectrum was a key catalyst for our plans to launch LTE in 2013 and is therefore good news for our customers.”

T-Mobile recently announced its 4G evolution strategy. The company will invest $4 billion on network modernization to improve existing voice and data coverage, and broadly deploy LTE in 2013. T-Mobile continues to need more AWS spectrum to support its 4G evolution efforts and the continued growth in mobile data services.

[eccentriceric]

wow i can't wait. hope that means more towers and upgrading 2G areas to 3G. I'm desperate for more towers in KS and Alabama. when vacationing in AL i was disgusted with the coverage and couldn't get service in moms apt. tons of towers and cellsites all over the place around Scottsboro and Jackson Co but T Mobile seems to only have one cellsite at Scottsboro. Then in central AL i was in roam the whole time.

[DRNewcomb]

wow i can't wait. hope that means more towers and upgrading 2G areas to 3G. I'm desperate for more towers in KS and Alabama. when vacationing in AL i was disgusted with the coverage and couldn't get service in moms apt.

I can pretty well assure you that Kansas and Alabama are not at the top of T-Mobile's priority list. Just as my home state of Mississippi and frequent vacation spot in NW Fla are not at the top of their priority list.

[Julian]

I can pretty well assure you that Kansas and Alabama are not at the top of T-Mobile's priority list. Just as my home state of Mississippi and frequent vacation spot in NW Fla are not at the top of their priority list.

I wouldn't discount Kansas too quickly. They have a very high market share in Kansas, and have been building out the rural areas in Kansas quite a bit over the past year... (they've only seemed to ignore western Kansas so far).

[eccentriceric]

I wouldn't discount Kansas too quickly. They have a very high market share in Kansas, and have been building out the rural areas in Kansas quite a bit over the past year... (they've only seemed to ignore western Kansas so far).

Which towers are new in KS? I've never seen the New Towers Icon on their map and i've been looking several times a week for over 6 months.

Also i wonder why they don't expand into western KS at least along I-70? I-70 is a big interstate.

[corrupt81]

Hopefully they do something with Florida too. Drove the entire I10 yesterday and the vast majority of it was "GPRS" data pretty much unusable - and there were quite a few dead spots no coverage at all.

On the way back to South Florida we stopped in Micanopy, no T-Mobile coverage at all. ATT and Sprint phones both had 3g signals.

Here in Fort Lauderdale coverage is fine, but once I venture out on my road trips I already know what to expect with T-Mobile.. which isn't a whole lot.

[reuthermonkey]

Hopefully they do something with Florida too. Drove the entire I10 yesterday and the vast majority of it was "GPRS" data pretty much unusable - and there were quite a few dead spots no coverage at all..

GPRS-only on all of I-10?

[corrupt81]

I like how you took a snap shot of the Tallahassee area, which of course is going to have faster data speeds. The big cities are fine, it's the smaller cities that lack T-Mobile coverage.

Besides I said the "majority" not "all" and having just made the trip a few days ago I'll go with my first hand experience of what the coverage was like. Going from Holt, Florida to Crestview, FL I had no coverage at all for some parts.

Will be making the trip again on monday (Fort Lauderdale to Pensacola) and can say without a doubt, the vast majority of the trip will be on "GPRS".

[aneftp]

I like how you took a snap shot of the Tallahassee area, which of course is going to have faster data speeds. The big cities are fine, it's the smaller cities that lack T-Mobile coverage.

Besides I said the "majority" not "all" and having just made the trip a few days ago I'll go with my first hand experience of what the coverage was like. Going from Holt, Florida to Crestview, FL I had no coverage at all for some parts.

Will be making the trip again on monday (Fort Lauderdale to Pensacola) and can say without a doubt, the vast majority of the trip will be on "GPRS".

Agree with you. Lots of people don't realize how big the panhandle area is. I was working a contract up in Okalossa County. Driving from Crestview to Samta Rosa Beach. I had three cell phones on me. Yes I am not normal. But AT&T had the better coverage over Verizon up there. Tmobile didn't have any coverage in many parts where I was going or down to grps.

That panhandle area is huge. I didn't realize it myself. I even flew into wrong airport. Flew into northwest beaches (new airport replacing panama city beach) instead of Pensacola cause I didn't realize Crestview was closer to Pensacola. It was a last minute business trip and just told the business office to book panama city.

[reuthermonkey]

I like how you took a snap shot of the Tallahassee area, which of course is going to have faster data speeds. The big cities are fine, it's the smaller cities that lack T-Mobile coverage.

Besides I said the "majority" not "all" and having just made the trip a few days ago I'll go with my first hand experience of what the coverage was like. Going from Holt, Florida to Crestview, FL I had no coverage at all for some parts.

Will be making the trip again on monday (Fort Lauderdale to Pensacola) and can say without a doubt, the vast majority of the trip will be on "GPRS".

I could really care less. I'm just saying that the whole area is supposedly not only covered with 2GSM, but overlayed with 3GSM as well. In fact, their 3GSM coverage extends well outside of their older 2GSM coverage - particularly in the panhandle. Last time I was in that area was 2006, and I had GPRS back then. Just hard for me to imagine you're getting "no coverage" in an area that "used to" have GPRS years ago, and supposedly still has 2GSM and now some more extensive 3GSM coverage also.

[DRNewcomb]

Besides I said the "majority" not "all" and having just made the trip a few days ago I'll go with my first hand experience of what the coverage was like. Going from Holt, Florida to Crestview, FL I had no coverage at all for some parts.

Florida SE of the Suwanee is OK. T-Mobile has treated NW Fla like a 3rd-world country. Last time I was in Port St. Joe I got nothing. When you look at Compass, anything that's in light green means, "Forget it." As for 3G, do recall that the the Feds took every minute allowed to vacate the AWS bands in NW Fla. T-Mobile was building out 3G elsewhere during that time.

[aneftp]

I could really care less. I'm just saying that the whole area is supposedly not only covered with 2GSM, but overlayed with 3GSM as well. In fact, their 3GSM coverage extends well outside of their older 2GSM coverage - particularly in the panhandle. Last time I was in that area was 2006, and I had GPRS back then. Just hard for me to imagine you're getting "no coverage" in an area that "used to" have GPRS years ago, and supposedly still has 2GSM and now some more extensive 3GSM coverage also.

I just did the drive from Crestview to Santa Rosa Beach to Panama City Beacg. I can confirm with the other poster you will have stretches of no signal and GPRS. This was in Dec 2011.

The "map' doesn't mean anything unless you are in a contract and trying to break it because of coverage. The "map" does mean something when you are trying to use the cell phone in those areas and get no coverage.

[corrupt81]

You can go with what your map says or you can go with what people that have actually been there say.

The pan handle as mentioned above is huge, by the time I got up to I10 from I75 I thought OK almost to Pensacola.. but no.. not even close to Tallahassee yet! (Pensacola still a couple hours PAST Tallahassee!)

I got back last night around 2AM covered the entire pan handle. I can confirm once again, there are stretches with no T-Mobile signal and the majority of it is GPRS. This is using a T-Mobile Sidekick 4G on a postpaid plan.
After I crossed into Leon county (Tallahassee) coming from the east, it was still on GPRS. About 10 miles into Leon county as I started getting closer to the 'big' exits, 4G came on. 4G lasted until just inside of Gadsden county (Quincy area) which it fell back to GPRS again. GPRS stayed on until I got to Jackson county (Marianna) which it hit 4G again. After Marianna, back to GPRS for the rest of the drive to Pensacola (which is 4G) and a few dead spots with no service at all.

The same applied to the turnpike, when you jump on the turnpike from I75, towards Wildwood, a good dead spot. I got cut off on my call and had to wait a few miles until I could get service again.
Micanopy still no coverage. Going into the pizza shop I had zero bars, couldn't make a phone call or anything. Sprint phone had full 3G.

Home in Fort Lauderdale, coverage is fine once again. I've made the trip at least 4 times in the last 6 months to Pensacola (and beyond) and T-Mobile coverage has not gotten any better.

In order of my signal from Fort Lauderdale to Pensacola - GPRS > EDGE > 4G > No service.

I'll be making the trip again middle of this month maybe T-Mobile will finally do something with the pan handle, at the very least fix the dead spots so people who have to rely on T-Mobile as their only carrier don't break down in one and are simply SOL.

[danska]

Is it at all possible that this new 3g coverage is pcs (1900mhz)? It might explain why many people haven't seen it. The sidekick 4g i don't think has PCS 4g/3g. (along with a lot of t-mobile's phones)

[terryjohnson16]

Good ol Senator Kohl, that helped us out with the AT&T proposed buyout of T-Mobile, is voicing his concerns over the proposed Verizon AWS SpectrumCo spectrum purchase:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...=rss_post-tech

Come on block this deal. I hope that if its blocked, T-Mobile and DT have common sense to jump in with an offer.