AT&T, Verizon Battle Smaller Carriers Over 700MHz Roaming
Apr 26, 2011, 12:06 PM by Eric M. Zeman
The Federal Communications Commission is holding a workshop today to discuss the interoperability of devices between the different bands of 700MHz spectrum. Larger carriers, such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless, say that mandating interoperability will be expensive and lead to thicker, bulkier devices and more costly base stations. Small carriers, such as Cellular South and U.S. Cellular are hoping that the FCC mandates the interoperability so that they won't be squeezed out of roaming deals with the larger carriers. There are at least three major bands of 700MHz spectrum, including Verizon's C Block (class 13), AT&T's C and B Blocks (class 17), and the smaller carriers' A, B, and C Blocks (class 12). Qualcomm said it is planning one chipset to support band 12, and argues that its chips can only support two bands per chip below 1GHz and three bands above 1GHz. Qualcomm says supporting the right set of bands to allow roaming between AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and the smaller carriers would be incredibly complicated and take years to develop. The FCC hasn't said if or when it will make a decision regarding this issue.
more info at FCC (PDF) »
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