pectin revivification: AT&T scores WCS spectrum victory, covers 608 markets and 82 percent of Americans

Thursday, December 20, 2012

AT&T scores WCS spectrum victory, covers 608 markets and 82 percent of Americans

The wireless landscape shifted a bit today, as the FCC has made good on its promise to allow AT&T's deployment of LTE service over the WCS band. In all, the regulatory agency approved Ma Bell's acquisition of licenses to the underutilized 2.3GHz spectrum from Comcast, Horizon, NextWave and San Diego Gas and Electric, along with additional AWS spectrum from NextWave. The licenses cover 82 percent of the population across 608 markets within the continental US. If you're an AT&T subscriber, however, don't expect to benefit from the deal overnight. By the carrier's own admission, it'll take at least three years to build up the proper infrastructure and introduce devices that support WCS, which means you're likely to go through a new iPhone or two between now and then. In the meantime, feel free to soak in the nitty gritty details at the source.

[Cell tower photo credit: Ashish Sharma / Flickr]

Filed under: Wireless, Mobile, AT&T