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AT&T intends to use T-Mobile’s AWS spectrum for LTE

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 7:07PM EST
BGR

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On a call with investors Monday morning, AT&T confirmed its plans to use the AWS spectrum gained in the potential T-Mobile acquisition for its 4G LTE network. Following the carrier’s announcement on Friday that it will acquire T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom pending regulatory approval, AT&T on Monday revealed one of many factors that motivated it to offer $39 billion for the nation’s No. 4 cellular carrier: spectrum. According to the roadmap pictured above, AT&T will free up T-Mobile’s 1700MHz AWS spectrum by migrating T-Mobile subscribers off the frequency. The carrier then plans to pair its 700MHz spectrum with T-Mobile’s newly-cleared AWS to cover 95% of the U.S. population with 4G LTE service. We know how important 4G is to carriers right now, so the move will potentially give AT&T a huge bump in the race against Verizon Wireless, which has already deployed LTE service in several markets.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.