With the FCC
auction for the much ballyhooed 700MHz spectrum over, the big players were
barred from detailing their plans and spectrum winnings until an FCC embargo
was exhausted. Last week, that embargo expired and the winners are starting to
speak out.
While Verizon was the primary winner in the prized C block, AT&T came
out and said that the spectrum it won in the B block along with the 700 MHz C
block spectrum it bought from Aloha Partners will allow it to roll out its 4G
service much faster.
AT&T president and CEO of AT&Ts wireless unit, Ralph de la Vega said
in a statement, “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 country.”
The reason de la Vega says AT&T will be able to more swiftly roll out
its 4G service, also known as Long Term Evolution or LTE, is because of much
less stringent FCC restrictions compared to the C block Verizon won.
AT&T goes on to state that in the future the 700 MHz spectrum it won
will provide the foundation for its next generation wireless services like
HSPA+ and LTE. AT&T says that while standards for 4G service are still
emerging, broadband speeds of 100Mbps or more are expected.
For many AT&T subscribers it is a bit strange to hear AT&T talking
up 4G when its 3G service is still not available in many locations. To that end,
AT&T promises to deliver 3G service to nearly 350 leading markets by the
end of 2008 including the top 100 cities.
AT&T also states that it currently offers devices running every major
operating system and will add new ones as they become available and customer
demand exits. That should mean that Google
Android powered devices will make it to AT&T at some point.