Posted by: Joan Marsh on June 17, 2013 at 11:09 am
In recent months, there has been a renewed push to drive a regulatory mandate to address the interoperability issues that challenge the lower 700 MHz band. Perhaps acknowledging that a Band 12 mandate ignores the interference concerns present in the band, the small carriers are now arguing that B and C block licensees should be required to support both Band 17 and Band 12 in all the devices they offer. Setting aside the fact that this would require carriers like AT&T that own only B and C block licenses to support a band class that they don’t need and won’t use, a Dual Band mandate would fall far short of solving the interoperability challenge and raises a host of new problems.
At the outset, such a requirement would needlessly add material extra cost and complexity to devices. A Dual Band mandate would require AT&T to equip every device we offer with both Band 12 and Band 17 components. The result: inferior performance, form factor limitations and more cost – which would adversely affect competitiveness and user experience – all to enable operations on a block of spectrum that we don’t own.
Moreover, AT&T is already pushing the envelope on how many bands we can accommodate in our devices. Devices today are tightly engineered to achieve the small form factor that consumers desire, and even the smallest change in components can have substantial impacts on form factor and performance. And the majority of radio chipsets in use today support only three bands below 1 GHz. AT&T already must support Band 17 (700 MHz B and C Blocks), Band 5 (800 MHz), and Band 29 (700 MHz D and E Blocks) just to cover its LTE requirements, not to mention the need for ports to support legacy technologies and international roaming. In short, there are no ports to spare for unnecessary chipsets and, if we were forced to support Band 12, something else would likely have to go.
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Posted by: AT&T Blog Team on June 14, 2013 at 11:32 am
Please attribute the following statement to Jim Cicconi, AT&T Senior Executive Vice President, External and Legislative Affairs:
“Today’s announcement by the White House is important not just for the initiatives it lays out, but for the clear policy direction it sets. We commend the White House for recognizing the enormous progress in US broadband deployment, wireless in particular, and for their commitment to meet the need for more spectrum so these investments can continue. In addition, the new White House report, “Four Years of Broadband Growth“, demonstrates factually the dramatic pace of broadband investment that is helping transform America– a success story that is undeniable, compelling, and continuing.
“At AT&T, we’ve been doing our part, investing nearly $80 billion in the US over the past four years. And, with the promise of supportive government policies that encourage the construction of broadband infrastructure, we’re prepared to continue investing over the next four years, helping bring America the world class broadband infrastructure our economy needs to compete in the 21st century.”
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Posted by: AT&T Blog Team on June 13, 2013 at 5:22 pm
Please attribute the following statement to Charles Herget, AT&T AVP-Education Leadership:
“We are pleased with Leading Education by Advancing Digital (LEAD) Commission’s direction for enhancing education technology in our country’s K-12 classrooms. AT&T recognizes the LEAD Commission’s commitment to identifying how to overcome barriers in digital learning, and we believe that technology tools are vital to student success. Following President Obama’s ConnectED Initiative launch last week, AT&T remains committed to joining the LEAD Commission and others in the collective effort to help schools nationwide gain access to these learning tools.
“AT&T has a longstanding commitment to digital learning. We know that technology is impacting classrooms and rapidly changing the way students learn. As the LEAD Commission report says, expanded digital learning is imperative for our country’s students to remain competitive. We recognize that in order for students to succeed in today’s world, they must have 21st century skills – and that means access, technology tools and devices.”
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