The Qualcomm 700MHz spectrum sale deal with AT&T announced back in December 2010, finally came through with the FCC giving it the green signal. We recently saw the AT&T and T-Mobile merger fall through and now the former is again creating headlines for obtaining the Lower 700MHz D and E Block unpaired U.S. spectrum licenses from Qualcomm.
The sale of the licenses for $1.925 billion in the year 2010, didn’t materialize owing to matters related to satisfaction of the conditions of closing. With this development in place, AT&T shared its long term 4G network plans and hinted that the company intends to employ a new carrier aggregation technology which will apparently position the spectrum as a supplemental downlink.
“We are very pleased that the FCC has approved the sale of our spectrum licenses and look forward to working with AT&T to deploy supplemental downlink. This is a positive outcome for Qualcomm and our stakeholders,” comments Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm. “We would like to express our appreciation to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, his fellow FCC Commissioners and the FCC staff. The use of supplemental downlink will enable the efficient use of unpaired spectrum for mobile broadband in the U.S. and a richer, faster mobile experience for consumers.”
The new technology AT&T is intending to deploy, will bring about capacity gains of sorts. This integration will allow unpaired spectrum to be used in combination with paired spectrum available for LTE services. Additionally, Qualcomm has announced that it will be including this carrier aggregation technology in its roadmap for chipsets. Plus, the company will be aiming to make the technology available globally so users can enjoy enhanced mobile broadband networks.
As mentioned earlier, the Qualcomm and AT&T deal has been sealed and now the enhanced changes that the carrier brings to the network only remain to be seen.