AT&T and T-Mobile, according to document filings to the Federal Communications Commission, have agreed to swap some of their AWS-1 and PCS spectrum with each other, pending the approval of the FCC.
AT&T has not been the best of friends with T-Mobile in the past. Recently, AT&T called out the FCC for letting rivals T-Mobile and Sprint offer the Wi-Fi calling feature as enabled by Apple's iPhone 6 even without obtaining the necessary approvals from the FCC.
The rivalry seems to have been put to rest for this particular agreement though, with the two carriers stating that the agreement is meant to allow for more efficient operations for both carriers.
The spectrum swap would lead to larger blocks of contiguous spectrum for both AT&T and T-Mobile, as well as align spectrum blocks in several markets. Some of the major markets where the companies are intending to swap spectrum are Phoenix, Arizona; Sacramento, California; Hartford, Connecticut; Boston, Massachusetts; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Austin and San Antonio, Texas.
The blocks that are being swapped have identical amounts, which means that the total spectrum holdings of AT&T and T-Mobile will not be affected by the exchange agreement if it acquires approval from the FCC. All the companies are doing are swapping the spectrum that they own but do not need in certain areas for spectrum that they need that are held by the other company.
If the agreement goes through, it will be highly beneficial for both carriers for the reasons mentioned. In addition, T-Mobile will also allow T-Mobile to offer 15+15 and 20+20 Wideband LTE in some of the included markets.
T-Mobile's Wideband LTE gives users more capacity and faster speeds, with the company previously stating that it is looking to offer the service in over 250 markets by the end of the year.
There is currently no timetable for the FCC to give its decision on the approval of the agreement, as well as the implementation of the spectrum swap. It is a good sight to see, however, that two fierce rivals in the cutthroat telecommunications business are working together to improve their operations and to provide better service to their customers.
