07/25/2008, 10:50am, EDT
Friday, July 25thAT&T fights Clearwire/Sprint WiMAX merger
AT&T hopes to block the proposed joint venture between Clearwire and Sprint for nationwide WiMAX service over regulatory issues, according to a Federal Communications Commission filing. While claiming not to be opposed to the deal on a basic level, AT&T argues that the FCC should stop the merger under claims that both Clearwire and Sprint are avoiding the full government scrutiny necessary to go ahead with their project, giving them an unfair advantage over AT&T and other carriers.
The two WiMAX providers are banking on licensing wireless frequencies used by educational, government and non-profit organizations to fill out their coverage but have only brought their use of their private, already-used commercial frequencies to regulators, according to AT&T. This approach has allegedly let both Clearwire and Sprint grab a large amount of spectrum for a wide-area Internet service without having to undergo the same vetting process as rivals.
Sprint itself has said the use non-commercial spectrum has received explicit support from those that manage it, as the organizations will be allowed to use the fast mobile data for their own purposes and earn money by leasing the spectrum to the carriers using it for their own services.
AT&T has a potential motivation to slow the unveiling of the joint WiMAX project, which is officially due for a few cities in September. WiMAX is considered a fourth-generation (4G) mobile Internet technology and will compete directly with AT&T's planned Long Term Evolution network, which was the result of successful bidding in the FCC's recent 700MHz wireless auction and will also offer 4G-class speeds across the US.
The mutual Clearwire and Sprint project will also allow any device and legal software program to join the service, opening the possibility of hybrid devices switching from AT&T to WiMAX.
Filed under: industry, mobile phones
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Infuriating
Apple Fan boy since 1976. Have owned every machine since then. This AT&T thing is a debacle. Makes me sick to my stomach. It must be costing stock holders billions. Have four iphone family accounts. I have to march every one of them to a store to get the new phones. One was lost but cannot replace it. They keep charging account, however. AT&T clerks are jerks. Unfortunately we live in an Apple store dead zone. Looks like a trip to the big city. Come on Sprint and Clearwire, we are waiting.
Business Today
Business today is like playing chess, except that there are three players. If one player makes a bad move, or another makes a series of better moves, the loser can complain to the third player that has the ability to move pieces as they see fit.
Not sure about anybody else, but the rules for this game of chess sucks. Let's just play...
I could not agree more
Starwarrior: I could not agree more!!!
Am also a Apple Fan, In fact I still bleed in 6 colors, but AT&T is just the worst. I LOVE my iPhone it is as others have said much more then a phone it is a tablet mac and I no loner have to carry my laptop every where.
On the other hand what I would give to have the iPhone on my old Verizon account. Great service, GREAT customer service. The only problem, no matter what they say (the Dare, the Voyager, etc) nothing compares to an iPhone.
I just made the switch and I already have had to call AT&T 4 times with issues. The fun part is when they tell me to call Apple and it is about the service not the phone. One time I did call Apple and the guy I spoke to told me that of course it's an AT&T issue. When I told him that AT&T said I needed to call them he just laughed and explained to me that even they had problems with the service and that he carried the iPhone and a really cheep small cell on Verizon. Guess which one he made the calls on?
AT&T has got to get it's act together! Apple needs to open the iPhone to other services. AT&T should get down on it's knees and kiss Steve's A$$ every day for the iPhone because with out it they would be out of business.
Just my $0.02
Re: infuriating
Have four iphone family accounts. I have to march every one of them to a store to get the new phones.
You don't have to. They apparently already have iPhones. You just felt you needed to buy the new ones because, well, its new or something.
Don't know how to break it to you all, but there is no requirement that you HAVE to get an iphone.
(Oh, tried one in the store today. Keyboard sucked. Kept picking letters next to the one I want to type. Entering a URL was a long/slow process. And the speed of the thing, like rotating it to landscape, seemed slower than I thought it should be.