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Wire & Cable ASIA – March/April 2012 44
Of related interest . . .
❖ Citing other US Census Bureau data, Businessweek.com
on 28 th December noted that high-cost coastal states like
New York and California seem likely to lose residents as
the economy recovers, continuing a trend over the past
decade that saw Americans moving to more affordable
regions. From 2000 to 2010 the US population climbed
9.7 per cent. Five states – Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Utah,
and Idaho – grew at more than twice the national pace,
while California, the most populous state, had its smallest
increase ever. The Northeastern states of New York,
New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts are among
those that had population increases of less than half the
national average.
Telecom
A thwarted merger of AT&T and T-Mobile
highlights the US wireless industry’s need
for spectrum – and partnerships
For much of last year, American mobile operators were
preoccupied with the question of what the acquisition
of T-Mobile USA by AT&T might mean for the wireless
industry. When, on 19th December, AT&T abandoned
the huge ($39 billion) transaction, the emphasis shifted.
Stacey Higginbotham of GigaOm re-framed the question
bluntly: “How the heck will operators still make money
while obtaining spectrum and building the networks they
need to support robust demand for 4G wireless services?”
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the
Department of Justice had effectively blocked a merger;
they had also destroyed the hope of an interim solution
to the acute spectrum shortage in the United States. As
operators move from 3G to 4G services such as LTE, they
must take on the substantially higher costs associated
with remaking and upgrading their networks. Looking
further ahead, to spectrum-hogging standards such as
LTE-Advanced, they will need more megahertz (MHz) all
the time. As noted by Ms Higginbotham, AT&T’s bid to
obtain additional spectrum was not solely an attempt to
dispatch a rival. The company needs more spectrum for its
LTE network, and having T-Mobile’s AWS airwaves ready for
an LTE deployment would have smoothed AT&T’s migration
path. (“AT&T Defeat Puts Focus on Wireless Deals,”
20 th December).
With AT&T out of the picture – unless and until it returns
with a more politically acceptable offer – smaller players
such as Leap Wireless and Metro PCS will be eyeing
T-Mobile. Dish Networks, a satellite TV provider eager to
become a wireless operator, could try its luck. But GigaOm
suggests that Sprint may provide the most interest as it
weighs its choices: pursue T-Mobile; keep dealing with
Clearwire; or continue to cultivate LightSquared, which
plans to build a 4G LTE network but is having difficulty
moving forward. When it comes to 4G, observes GigaOm,
Sprint cannot go it alone: no one can. Noting the static
quality of the wireless industry over most of last year,
Ms Higginbotham wrote, “As we wait for T-Mobile to
choose a dance partner and AT&T to decide if it wants to
play nice with others or rethink its service offering, [2012]
will be much more interesting for wireless.”
❖ Presuming it secures FCC approval, Verizon will seek to
supply its megahertz needs by acquiring $4 billion worth
of AWS spectrum from cable companies, amassing up
to 60 MHz of spectrum for 4G services in some major
metro areas. In the meantime, the company’s US
network has been hit repeatedly with downtime. Droid
Life reported on 28th December that customers in major
cities including New York, San Francisco and Chicago
had been having trouble connecting to Verizon’s 3G
and 4G LTE networks. San Francisco-based Josh
Lowensohn of noted that the outage was the
third for Verizon that month, undermining the company’s
advertised claim to operate a more reliable wireless
network than competitors AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint.
Dorothy Fabian – Features E