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Spectrum Blog

Spectrum Reductions due to CBRS Consent Decree Tue, Aug 09, 2022

Previously we have written about the CBRS Consent Decree between the FCC and SAL Spectrum, Cable One, NorthWestern Corporation, US Cellular Corporation, and Shenandoah Cable Television.  Each of these CBRS auction winners had an investment from Black Rock, Inc greater than 10% interest.  Below are charts that reflecting each carrier's auction winnings, the licenses that they requested following the consent decree, and changes to each carriers market assignments. 

Looking at the Combined Blackrock from the Auction Results table, there are many markets where the combined group has auction spectrum allotments of 60MHz.  In the Updated License table, many markets went from being above the 40MHz limit to being below the 40MHz limit.  This is primarily due to SAL Spectrum (ATNI) declining any spectrum assignments in virtually all of these markets.

The last column to highlight is the GAA Increase column in the Change table.  This column reflects the net increase in GAA available spectrum in each market since the FCC is not planning to reauction this spectrum since it can still be utilized through the GAA usage process. 

 Arkansas and Illinois:

 

Missouri:

 

Maryland, Montana, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin:


3.45GHz Auction Results Sat, Jan 15, 2022

On Friday, the FCC posted the results from Auction 110.  On Saturday we updated the January 2021 release of our Mobile Carrier - Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool to reflect the auction results.  These results provide the most detailed view of each carrier's spectrum that can be deployed for 5G, particularly all of the available upper mid-band spectrum including EBS/BRS, 3.45GHz, CBRS, and C-band.

In the Spectrum Grid, we can see the channel allocations.  In general, Dish took the upper end of the band with T-Mobile and AT&T alternate having the lower parts of the band.  In many markets, AT&T is pinned in the middle of the band between T-Mobile, Grain, and Columbia Capital.  Each of the spectrum investors has selected spectrum assignments adjacent to AT&T's spectrum meaning they are each well positioned to sell to AT&T if the 3.45GHz spectrum cap is lifted. 

In the National Band Ownership slides we look at each carrier's ownership based upon the percent of MHz-POPs that they control.

For the 3.45GHz band, AT&T leads the way with 39% of the MHz-POPs, Dish has 30%, T-Mobile has 12%, and USCellular has 4%.  

Looking the the complete picture for Upper Mid-band spectrum, T-Mobile still leads with 34%, Verizon follows with 30%, then AT&T with 24%.  Dish has 9% of the upper mid-band MHz-POPs and USCellular has 2%.

 


Determining Unissued CBRS Licenses Tue, Dec 14, 2021

Earlier this month, the FCC announced that they finally released (granted) the CBRS PAL licenses won in Auction 105 by Cross Telephone Company.  I thought that this would be a good opportunity to show how the Transactions module in our Web Spectrum Viewer can be used to determine the status of pending transactions. 

As an introduction, our Transaction module includes all of the transactions affecting the mobile carrier and millimeter wave spectrum bands, going back to 2014.  We capture each of these transactions when they are posted on the FCC Daily Digest and update their status monthly until they are granted.

To find the unissued CBRS licenses, we set the filters to only include the CBRS spectrum transactions, for new licenses, that still have a pending FCC status.

 

After setting these filters, the results can be exported as an Excel file.

 

 

Finally, since the Transaction export includes a record for each license  that a carrier will receive, I am going to apply a pivot table in Excel, to summarize the 2857 matching records.  In the table below, you can see the bidding names for the companies that have not received their CBRS licenses and the count of their outstanding licenses.  Cross Telephone is still on this list, because the transactions list is updated monthly with the currently list indicating all of the transactions through the end of November.  The Cross Telephone licenses were granted on December 10, 2021 so they will be reflected in the January transaction file update.

 


Assessing the COVID Temporary Spectrum Licenses Tue, Mar 31, 2020

Last week we began to see announcements from the FCC authorizing a series of temporary spectrum usage agreements to provide additional spectrum to several of the wireless operators to increase network capacity as workers are dispatched to their homes.

We will look at the effect of these agreements in a few markets to see how they are increasing LTE capacity.  The analysis will be supported with outputs from our Mobile Carrier - Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool  specifically the Spectrum Ownership Grid.

T-Mobile 600MHz Capacity Expansion:

The first agreement provides T-Mobile with access to 600MHz spectrum from Bluewater Wireless, Channel 51 LIcense Co and LB License Co (Columbia Capital), CC Wireless Investment (Comcast), ParketB.com Wireless (Dish), New Level (Grain), and Tstar License Holdings (Tri-Star).

In the image below for the New York CMA market, T-Mobile will have access to Comcast's spectrum (XFI) and Dish's spectrum increasing their 600MHz channel size in New York from 10MHz channel to a 20MHz channel.  T-Mobile would have access to the entire 35MHz of spectrum so they could provide a 20MHz channel and a 10MHz channel for capacity.   Because T-Mobile has already deployed Band 71 equipment in New York, they can turn up the expanded spectrum without additional equipment installations.

 

USCellular AWS-3 Capacity Expansion:

The next agreement provides USCellular access to AWS-3 spectrum from their bidding partner Advantage Spectrum.  In the image below a few of the Washington markets where USCellular will access AWS-3 spectrum are indicated.  In most of these markets, USCellular currently operates on their cellular frequencies but doesn't have Band 66 operations.Thus,  USCellular will need to add base stations and antennas to their sites for Band 66 to utilize these new frequencies.  In five of these counties USCellular is likely operating on AWS-1 spectrum in Band 66 so the spectrum will be easier to deploy in those counties. 

 

Verizon AWS-3 Capacity Expansion:

In the image below we illustrate the AWS-3 spectrum that Verizon will gain temporary access from SNR License Co and Northstar Wireless (both Dish partners).  Northstar controls the AWS-3 G channel and SNR LIcense Co controls the AWS-3 H channel.  In the New York market, Northstar Wireless owns the G block spectrum and SNR Wireless owns the H block spectrum.  Accessing this spectrum will provide Verizon a second Band 66 LTE channel, increasing their LTE capacity from 20MHz to 30MHz.

 

Verizon & AT&T AWS-3 Capacity Expansion:

Verizon and AT&T have also requested access to the spectrum that Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless returned to the FCC when their auction discounts were eliminated.  The AWS-3 spectrum depth that is "unassigned" is indicated in the map below.  In our data, we reflect these unassigned licenses with the FCC heading.

 

AT&T requested the I block spectrum in the New York market, so it will expand their Band 66 LTE from 10MHz to 15MHz.  The markets AT&T requested are listed here and the markets that Verizon requested are here.

 

AT&T AWS-4 Capacity Expansion:

AT&T has also requested access to Dish's Band 66 spectrum.  From the image above AT&T can expand their Band 66 LTE by and additional 5MHz to 20MHz by using part of Dish's AWS-4 spectrum.  AT&T will still have an additional 15MHz of Dish's spectrum that they could use as an additional LTE channel in New York.  AT&T only requested access to Dish's Band 66 spectrum, not their Band 70 AWS-4 spectrum.

AT&T 700MHz E-block Expansion:

Dish also reported that AT&T requested access the the 700MHz E-block in the markets that AT&T doesn't own.  In the image below, Dish's ownership in Chicago and Detroit will provide AT&T the capability to expand their Band 29 supplemental downlink from 5MHz to 10MHz.


Auction 103 Millimeter Wave - Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool Update and Release Thu, Mar 12, 2020

Spektrum Metrics Insights & Analytics is pleased to announce that our Millimeter Wave - Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool has been updated with the Auction 103 results and is available for purchase.

Below is a sample of the Spectrum Grid Analysis Module, highlighting the 37/39 GHz spectrum ownership for the New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago CMA markets.

The Millimeter Wave - Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool contains 20 additional analysis modules including:

  • Spectrum Depth - County
  • Spectrum Depth - Company Profile
  • Spectrum Depth - NR Band Class
  • Spectrum Depth - Frequency Band
  • Spectrum Depth - Market
    • Cellular Market Area (CMA)
    • Partial Economic Area (PEA)
    • Designated Market Area (DMA)
  • Spectrum Depth - Country
  • Spectrum Depth - State
  • Spectrum Depth - Channel
  • Licensed POPs Analysis
    • By Channel
    • By Frequency Band
  • MHz-POPs Analysis
    • By Frequency Band
    • By Country
  • NR Channel Analysis 
  • Contiguous Spectrum Analysis
  • Frequency Band Ownership Analysis

With our Web Spectrum Viewer subscription, maps for each carrier's total Millimeter Wave spectrum depth and their spectrum depth for each frequency band are available.  Below is a map for the 47GHz spectrum that Sprint won in Auction 103.

Click here to contact Spektrum Metrics Insights & Analytics.


28GHz Acquistions | Verizon and USCellular Tue, Sep 24, 2019

This month, millimeter wave spectrum licenses have begun to trade again.  Both USCellular and Verizon have filed to acquire multiple licenses from several carriers as depicted on the maps below:

Note:  All of these licenses were held prior to Auction 101.


AT&T's Low Band 5G | 700MHz or Cellular Thu, May 09, 2019

 Late last year, AT&T began to discuss refarming their low-band spectrum for 5G, but they didn't indicate which of their low band spectrum blocks would be used.  With some spectrum acquisitions that have been filed over the last 6 months, I believe their plans are becoming more clear.  The 3 blocks of low band spectrum that AT&T controls are 700MHz (A,B, and C channels), 700MHz (FirstNet), and the Cellular (A & B channels). I am going to assume that the FirstNet spectrum is not being considered since it must support public safety networks, leaving the 700MHz and Cellular bands for refarming.  The first indicator, was AT&T's acquisition of FBS 700's spectrum in South Dakota and their acquisition of part of C Spire's 700MHz spectrum in the southeast.  

To see AT&T's total 700MHz spectrum, we used Allnet Insights' Mobile Carrier - Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool to total AT&T's ownership of the 700MHz A, B, and C channels in each US county.  In the counties where they own all three channels, they could deploy a 15MHz 5G channel.  From the map below, it appears that AT&T would cover most of the US with a 10MHz 5G channel.   

 

 The next map highlights the counties where AT&T controls both cellular channels (A & B).  In the limited markets where they control both channels (Texas and Florida), they could have a 5G channel size of 20MHz, but for most of the country that would be limited to a 10MHz 5G channel size.  It is important to remember that the areas where AT&T doesn't control any cellular spectrum the bands are controlled by USCellular and/or Verizon, making cellular spectrum acquisitions unlikely.

 Another important way to evaluate the usefulness of each band is to measure the amount of population that can be reach with the licenses in each band.  To evaluate this we used the Licensed POPs Analysis Module from the Mobile Carrier - Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool.  Since AT&T's 700MHz spectrum covers 44 million addition people compared to AT&T's Cellular spectrum, I believe that AT&T is planning to utilize their 700MHz spectrum for their upcoming Low Band 5G deployments.  This appears to be confirmed by AT&T's recent acquisitions.


Licensed Spectrum Survey for DAS and Small Cell Implementation Mon, Nov 05, 2018

Two questions for all of the wireless network installers and drive testers:

1)  Where can you get the spectrum assignments for all of the mobile carrier bands with in a county?

2)  How can you determine if the licensed spectrum assignment will change in the near future?

Allnet Insights' Web Spectrum Viewer now includes a Wireless Survey which details the wireless carrier that currently controls each block of Mobile Carrier spectrum (600MHz-2.5GHz) for a selected US county.  In addition, the Wireless Survey indicates whether there are any filed transaction that will move that spectrum to another wireless carrier, as indicated in the Future column.

The output table details the spectrum assignment's,licensees, and bandwidth for each block and is sorted from lowest frequency to highest frequency.  This output table can be exported as a .csv file.  


Weekly FCC Spectrum Transactions Mon, Oct 22, 2018

Since blog postings of our Weekly Spectrum Transaction Summary emails are behind a subscription wall, I am posting last week's summary to show the detailed information that will arrive at your inbox every Friday, covering both the Mobile Carrier (600MHz-2.5GHz) and Millimeter Wave (12.2GHz-47GHz) transactions filed the previous week.
FCC Transactions - October 17, 2018
In this week's FCC transactions we see 4 transaction themes.  First, we see Cimaron Telephone / Cross Cable leasing an AWS3 license from Cross Telephone (a parent company).  Second, we see GE MDS leasing 4 - 700MHz Guard band licenses across the South and Southwest.  Third, we see a large filing from SpeedConnect providing them access to a varying number of channels on 35 call signs across the midwest, primarily in rural or low population areas.  The owned BRS channels are involved in most of these transactions which is surprising because it is Sprint's premium spectrum holding in all of these markets.  Most of these channels cover entire BTA market areas with contiguous spectrum.  Fourth, we see T-Mobile leasing RigNet's 700MHz C band license covering the entire Gulf of Mexico.  This will enable T-Mobile to build their LTE network for the oil platforms in the gulf.
Purpose Assignee Assignor CallSign Map RadioService Market ChannelBlock
New Lease Cimaron Telephone Cross Telephone Company WRBQ838 AWS3 CMA598 - Oklahoma 3 - Grant G
New Lease GE MDS LLC Access 700 WPRR314 700MHz GB MEA025 - Nashville A
New Lease GE MDS LLC Access 700 WPRV427 700MHz GB MEA008 - Atlanta A
New Lease GE MDS LLC Access 700 WPRV430 700MHz GB MEA024 - Birmingham A
New Lease GE MDS LLC Access 700 WPRV439 700MHz GB MEA038 - San Antonio A
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B064 Map BRS BTA064 - Butte, MT BRS1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B064 Map BRS BTA064 - Butte, MT E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B064 Map BRS BTA064 - Butte, MT F1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B064 Map BRS BTA064 - Butte, MT F2
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B064 Map BRS BTA064 - Butte, MT F3
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B064 Map BRS BTA064 - Butte, MT F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B064 Map BRS BTA064 - Butte, MT H1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B064 Map BRS BTA064 - Butte, MT H2
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B064 Map BRS BTA064 - Butte, MT H3
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B144 Map BRS BTA144 - Flagstaff, AZ BRS1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B144 Map BRS BTA144 - Flagstaff, AZ E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B144 Map BRS BTA144 - Flagstaff, AZ F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B167 Map BRS BTA167 - Grand Island-Kearney, NE BRS1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B171 Map BRS BTA171 - Great Falls, MT BRS2
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B171 Map BRS BTA171 - Great Falls, MT E1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B171 Map BRS BTA171 - Great Falls, MT E2
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B171 Map BRS BTA171 - Great Falls, MT E3
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B171 Map BRS BTA171 - Great Falls, MT E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B171 Map BRS BTA171 - Great Falls, MT F1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B171 Map BRS BTA171 - Great Falls, MT F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B202 Map BRS BTA202 - Idaho Falls, ID BRS1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B202 Map BRS BTA202 - Idaho Falls, ID BRS2
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B202 Map BRS BTA202 - Idaho Falls, ID E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B202 Map BRS BTA202 - Idaho Falls, ID F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B205 Map BRS BTA205 - Iowa City, IA BRS1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B205 Map BRS BTA205 - Iowa City, IA BRS2
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B205 Map BRS BTA205 - Iowa City, IA E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B205 Map BRS BTA205 - Iowa City, IA F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B300 Map BRS BTA300 - Missoula, MT BRS1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B353 Map BRS BTA353 - Pocatello, ID BRS1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B353 Map BRS BTA353 - Pocatello, ID BRS2
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B353 Map BRS BTA353 - Pocatello, ID E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B353 Map BRS BTA353 - Pocatello, ID F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B422 Map BRS BTA422 - Sioux Falls, SD BRS1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B422 Map BRS BTA422 - Sioux Falls, SD BRS2
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B422 Map BRS BTA422 - Sioux Falls, SD E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B422 Map BRS BTA422 - Sioux Falls, SD F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B451 Map BRS BTA451 - Twin Falls, ID BRS1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B451 Map BRS BTA451 - Twin Falls, ID E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B451 Map BRS BTA451 - Twin Falls, ID F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WFY431 Map BRS P00089 - P35 GSA,40-43-38 N,99-7-41.3 W BRS1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WFY595 Map BRS P03002 - P35 GSA,41-32-48.1 N,90-27-56.5 W BRS1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WGW275 Map BRS P03471 - P35 GSA,43-28-24.1 N,83-50-39.9 W E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WHI959 Map BRS P00168 - P35 GSA,43-59-30.9 N,96-46-11.2 W F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WHT588 Map BRS P03685 - P35 GSA,41-31-58.1 N,90-34-40.5 W E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WLK328 Map BRS P01359 - P35 GSA,43-14-38 N,97-22-39.2 W F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WLK384 Map BRS P01362 - P35 GSA,43-14-38 N,97-22-39.2 W E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WLW827 Map BRS P01384 - P35 GSA,31-25-16.6 N,100-32-37.3 W F1234
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WLW894 Map BRS P01898 - P35 GSA,41-31-58.1 N,90-34-40.5 W F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WMH800 Map BRS P02690 - P35 GSA,34-13-58.1 N,112-22-15.6 W E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WMI345 Map BRS P01925 - P35 GSA,41-54-33 N,91-39-17.6 W E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WMI827 Map BRS P02939 - P35 GSA,34-42-17.1 N,112-6-57.6 W E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WMI864 Map BRS P02941 - P35 GSA,34-42-17.1 N,112-6-57.6 W F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WML478 Map BRS P03544 - P35 GSA,31-25-16.6 N,100-32-37.3 W BRS1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WMX344 Map BRS P03719 - P35 GSA,43-30-10.9 N,96-34-39.2 W F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WMX358 Map BRS P01947 - P35 GSA,43-30-10.9 N,96-34-39.2 W E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WMX656 Map EBS P00155 - P35 GSA,42-43-54 N,114-25-7 W D1234
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WMX678 Map EBS P00017 - P35 GSA,42-43-54 N,114-25-7 W C1234
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WMX908 Map BRS P03551 - P35 GSA,31-25-16.6 N,100-32-37.3 W E1234
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WNTC543 Map BRS P01566 - P35 GSA,31-25-16.6 N,100-32-37.3 W H1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WNTC543 Map BRS P01566 - P35 GSA,31-25-16.6 N,100-32-37.3 W H2
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WQLW472 Map BRS BTA070 - Cedar Rapids, IA BRS2
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WQLW472 Map BRS BTA070 - Cedar Rapids, IA E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WQLW472 Map BRS BTA070 - Cedar Rapids, IA F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WQLW474 Map BRS BTA105 - Davenport, IA-Moline, IL BRS2
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WLW970 Map BRS P02673 - P35 GSA,35-14-2 N,111-36-27.6 W F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint WMI320 Map BRS P02694 - P35 GSA,35-14-29 N,111-36-37.6 W E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B011 Map BRS BTA011 - Alpena, MI BRS1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B011 Map BRS BTA011 - Alpena, MI E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B011 Map BRS BTA011 - Alpena, MI F1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B011 Map BRS BTA011 - Alpena, MI F2
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B011 Map BRS BTA011 - Alpena, MI F3
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B011 Map BRS BTA011 - Alpena, MI F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B011 Map BRS BTA011 - Alpena, MI H1
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B011 Map BRS BTA011 - Alpena, MI H2
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B011 Map BRS BTA011 - Alpena, MI H3
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B307 Map BRS BTA307 - Mt. Pleasant, MI E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B307 Map BRS BTA307 - Mt. Pleasant, MI F4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B390 Map BRS BTA390 - Saginaw-Bay City, MI E4
New Lease SpeedConnect Sprint B390 Map BRS BTA390 - Saginaw-Bay City, MI F4
New Lease T-Mobile RigNet WPWV330 700MHz CMA306 - Gulf of Mexico C

Spectrum Trades - Highlighting Market Spectrum Changes Fri, Mar 10, 2017

In my most recent post on the filed FCC Transactions for February 2017 there were over 275 call signs that were assigned to new licensees and nearly 100 call signs that were leased.  In an industry driven by spectrum, these changes affect the operations for every wireless carrier, they change site interference, and they affect the channels that are programmed into private repeaters and DAS systems.

So how can your company stay on top of the changes that may affect your markets.  Allnet Insights' publishes a National Carrier Spectrum Depth Report which details the spectrum held by Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Dish, and USCellular in the Top 100 Cellular Market Areas (CMA).  We report both the spectrum that each carrier currently holds (Current Holdings) and the spectrum they will hold in the future (Future Holdings) based on pending FCC transactions.  Reporting on both current and future holdings enables Allnet Insights' to also report on the changes between current and future holdings which highlight the location and quantity of spectrum that is changing hands.

Below is a screenshot of the 11th through the 25th most populated CMA markets in our February 2017 report.  This highlights the markets where the national carriers are either increasing or decreasing their spectrum holdings.  In the Excel report you can reveal specific holdings by frequency bands that are changing but for this post, we will stay with the total spectrum view.   From this view, you can see that in San Diego, T-Mobile is increasing their held spectrum by 5MHz while AT&T is decreasing their held spectrum by 5MHz.  The reverse is happening in the Sacramento CMA.

We also highlight the spectrum that is changing hands in our Web Spectrum Viewer.  In the Spectrum Grid menu, we lower case the 3 letter carrier code to indicate that the carrier ownership is changing from the current to the future.  Looking at the same San Diego market (San Diego County) you can see (tmo) on the PCS B6 spectrum.  Since this screen shot is of the Future Holdings, T-Mobile is will control this spectrum in the future.   

Future:

The screen shot below is of the San Diego County Current Holdings. (att) in the PCS B6 column indicates that AT&T is the current operator of the B6 channel. 

Current:

For Sacramento (Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties), we can see that AT&T will be the future operator of the PCS B11 channel and that T-Mobile will be the carrier giving up the PCS B11 channel. 

Future:

Current:

 My last example is in Tucson, AZ.  From the National Carriers Report we can see that T-Mobile is increasing their held spectrum by 10MHz.   

From the Web Spectrum Viewer, it is clear that T-Mobile is receiving the PCS A10 and A11 channels from Commnet (cmm).

Future:

Current: 

 

 


FCC Spectrum Transactions - February 2017 Mon, Mar 06, 2017

Today, we have released Allnet's Insights' March 2017 Mobile Carrier - Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool.  Below are the transactions that have been updated by the FCC from February 1st to February 28th and are included in our update. 

The details for all of the below transactions are available by subscribing to Allnet Insights' Web Tool - Basic Module.  Our Web Tool provides spectrum transaction detail, a spectrum grid of spectrum owners at a county level, and spectrum database covering all mobile carrier frequencies from 600MHz to 2.5 GHz.

Granted Assignments (Assigning Ownership from Assignor to Assignee):

Granted Leases (Leased to Assignee from Assignor):

New Pending Assignments (Assigning Ownership from Assignor to Assignee):

Pending Leases (Leased to Assignee from Assignor):


FCC Spectrum Transactions - December 2016 Thu, Jan 05, 2017

Today, we have released Allnet's Insights' January 2017 Mobile Carrier - Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool.  Below are the transactions that have been updated by the FCC from December 1 to December 31 and are included in our update. 

The details for all of the below transactions are available by subscribing to Allnet Insights' Web Tool - Basic Module.  Our Web Tool provides spectrum transaction detail, a spectrum grid of spectrum owners at a county level, and spectrum database covering all mobile carrier frequencies from 700MHz to 2.5 GHz.

Granted Assignments (Assigning Ownership from Assignor to Assignee):

Granted Leases (Leased to Assignee from Assignor):

New Pending Assignments (Assigning Ownership from Assignor to Assignee):

Pending Leases (Leased to Assignee from Assignor):

 


Change in Spectrum Holdings? Tue, Sep 13, 2016

With this blog post, we are highlighting the Change in Spectrum Holdings feature of our National Carriers - Spectrum Holdings reports.  In this report, we detail the spectrum holdings for each of the national carriers, including Dish, and USCellular.  The first segment of the report details each carrier's future holdings, tracking the effects of all pending FCC transactions.  The second segment of the report details each carrier's current spectrum holdings.  Using each of these segments, we provide a Change in Spectrum Holdings segment which highlights the CMA markets where a carrier's spectrum holding are increasing (+) or decreasing (-) because of filed FCC transactions.

In the view above, from August 2016, you can see the summary details for the spectrum additions and subtractions for each of the national wireless carriers.  This view highlights a spectrum trade between Sprint and T-Mobile in the Cleveland market (5 MHz) as well as the T-Mobile's pending 700MHz A-Block transactions.

 The view above details the band classifications (low, mid, or high) and the frequency band that contribute to T-Mobile's 12 MHz increase in spectrum.  The August 2016 report concludes that the transactions for all of the listed market names are still pending.

Now looking at the September 2016, the Allnet's Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool has updated the transactions that were consummated during August 2016.  The only pending 700MHz - A Block transaction is T-Mobile's purchase of Laser in Chicago, IL.

For the cost of a monthly subscription to the National Carrier - Spectrum Depth Reports ($495/mo), the monthly effect of pending and closed transaction can be seen and evaluated.


AT&T's Low Band LTE: 700 MHz B and C Block Ownership Mon, Feb 22, 2016

email us at: info@allnetinsights.com to request a copy of the above map

Our most recent posts have looked at the low band spectrum that T-Mobile is accumulating, the 700 MHz A-Block.  To see the low band spectrum that AT&T has typically deployed for LTE, we need to look at the 700 MHz B-block and 700 MHz C-block.  With the B-block spectrum, it is clear that AT&T is visually the dominant spectrum holder.  When looking at the licensed population data, this is true as well.

AT&T dominates the licensed population (POPS) numbers as well, accounting for 274 million of the 312 million US States and Territories population.  These population numbers relate to the 2010 Census.  C Spire with 1.4 million licensed POPS and US Cellular (23 million) both have significant spectrum in their regional operations area with the 700 MHz B Block spectrum.

 email us at: info@allnetinsights.com to request a copy of the above map

With the C-block spectrum, AT&T dominates the west coast and southeast but gives way to USCellular and other regional operators in the midwest.

Looking at the licensed population numbers, AT&T has about 15 million more licensed POPS with their C block spectrum than their B block spectrum.  While USCellular has significantly less C block spectrum (6.8 million POPS compared to 22 million POPS).  It is also apparent that T-Mobile has very limited ownership of B-block spectrum (262,000 POPS) and C-block spectrum (119,000 POPS).  Clearly AT&T has the ability to combine their B and C block channels in many markets to create a 10x10 LTE channel.  We will include a map in a future blog detailing AT&T's total 700 MHz (A/B/C) spectrum holdings as well as USCellular's total 700 MHz (A/B/C) spectrum holdings.


700 MHz A-Block Spectrum Owners Tue, Jan 19, 2016

email us at: info@allnetinsights.com to request a copy of the above map
T-Mobile has increased their ownership of low band spectrum licenses to cover over 200 million POPs (population).  The map above depicts the 700MHz A-Block spectrum owner for each US county.  From the map you can see that significant portions of the 700 MHz A-Block spectrum are controlled by parties that are not likely to sell, like US Cellular and C Spire.  Cavalier and Charter are signficant (land mass) spectrum holders that would be likely sellers to T-Mobile.
Below you can see the population counts for each of the owners.  After T-Mobile's 201 million, Cavalier covers 26 million POPs, US Cellular 35 million POPs, C Spire 14 million POPs, Continuum 14 million POPs, and Laser has 10 million POPs in Chicago.
This map and these licensed population evaluations reflect the Future data set from Allnet Insight's Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool (January 2016 Version).

Allnet Insight’s Top 20 Peak Downlink Throughput Tue, Sep 01, 2015

 

                   

These graphs detail the peak capacity for downlink files and streaming video for the four major national wireless carriers plus Dish and USCellular.  They illustrate the peak capacity on a market-by-market basis.  In creating the graphs, I anticipate the usage of each wireless carrier’s total spectrum available, not just the spectrum they have dedicated to LTE at this time. These graphs allow you to see the significant capacity advantage that Sprint will have once they deploy their 2.5GHz spectrum. They also provide a market-by-market comparison of AT&T and Verizon capacity.  You can see that AT&T has a capacity advantage versus Verizon in all Top 20 markets except Minneapolis-St. Paul.  In addition, you can see the relatively low capacity that T-Mobile is able to offer and the capacity that Dish could provide after they launch a network. 

I was able to construct these graphs by using Allnet Insights and Analytics Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool determine the number of LTE channels that each carrier’s spectrum can support.

 Assuming that each LTE channel had the follow achievable LTE Peak Data Rates:

These rates were applied to each of the carriers LTE channels to create a total peak downlink throughput.  For all EBS/BRS spectrum (Sprint’s 2.5GHz spectrum), I assumed TDD (Time Division Duplex) LTE operation and each channel’s throughput was reduced to 75% to reflect the 75:25 downlink to uplink ratio for TDD operation. TDD LTE utilizes a single radio channel to both transmit to the mobile device (downlink) and transmit from the mobile device (uplink). In TDD LTE timeslots, similar to the wedges on the Wheel of Fortune, carry either downlink traffic or uplink traffic during that time interval.  Since internet traffic is typically 75% downlink and 25% uplink, US operators dedicate 75% of the wedges to downlink and 25% to uplink.  Most US spectrum bands are configured for FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) LTE, which utilizes two radio channels, one to transmit to the mobile device (downlink), and one to transmit from the mobile device (uplink).


US - Carrier Aggregation Plans Fri, Feb 06, 2015

In the charts below, we present the current carrier aggregation plans for AT&T, Verizon, USCellular, Dish, T-Mobile, and Sprint.  Green indicates that particular frequency block is used one time in the aggregation scheme.  Yellow indicates that particular frequency block is used twice in the aggregation scheme.  For both the green and yellow highlights, only one carrier can be utilized in each frequency block.  The blue highlights indicate that multiple carriers can be utilized in each frequency block (non contiguous).

AT&T


Verizon

















T-Mobile



Sprint


Dish


 US Cellular





AWS - 3 Auction Tools Wed, Oct 15, 2014

In support of the upcoming auctions we have included the available AWS3 channels in our Spectrum Grid worksheet and we have added both a CMA and EA Market Report.  
In the Spectrum Grid you can see the primary spectrum owner for any spectrum band, including the adjacent AWS1 band, at a county level.  The CMA Market Report displays the spectrum holdings for 8 selected carriers utilizing the Cellular Market Area (CMA) geographic boundaries. The EA Market Report displays the spectrum holdings for 8 selected carriers utilizing the Economica Area (EA) geographic boundaries. For both of these reports, AllNet's county-level data is population weighted averaged to either the CMA or EA markets.

Spectrum Grid (AWS3 Portion)
CMA Market Report 
EA Market Report 

700 MHz A Block Owners (Map) and Top 20/50 Analysis Mon, Nov 25, 2013

With the recent industry press indicating that T-Mobile was positioning its self to purchase Verizon's 700 MHz A Block, I decided to dive into the Spectrum Analysis Tool to see what kind of geographic area Verizon's licenses would provide T-Mobile with low band spectrum.  
Clearly it would not be a spectrum purchase to provide coverage in rural areas since it doesn't address the rural areas in the western United States with the exception of western Colorado.  Looking at it on a Cellular Market (CMA) basis, this spectrum would provide T-Mobile with low band spectrum in all 15 of the Top 20 markets but only 25 of the Top 50 markets.  This includes both the Verizon spectrum and T-Mobile's 700MHz spectrum acquired from MetroPCS.

To acquire the remaining 700 MHz A block spectrum in the Top 20 markets, T-Mobile will need to be talking to:

Leap - Chicago
US Cellular - St. Louis
McBride Spectrum - Pittsburg
Cox - San Diego
Vulcan - Seattle


Verizon St Louis Spectrum Purchase, Carrier Aggregation, and Competitive Landscape Wed, Nov 06, 2013

It is interesting to look at the details of Verizon's spectrum purchase from US Cellular in the St Louis market area (EA-96).   Many industry sources talk about how purchase will provide 20MHz for Verizon's LTE.  While this is true, it should not be confused with Verizon deploying a 20 x 20 channel.  As can be seen from the Spectrum Grid view of AllNet Labs' Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool, Verizon is purchasing the AWS B channel and previously owned the F channel.  Although Verizon will own 20 MHz of spectrum, it is not contiguous and until they can deploy Release 12 software code into their network, they will have to operate this spectrum as two separate 10 MHz channels.  Release 12 is likely a 2015 or maybe 2016 release since operators are either planning or deploying Release 10 currently. 

The industry talks alot about Carrier Aggregation (CA) but there are several facts that are not well understood.  First, Release 10 includes the functionality for carrier aggregation but the frequency band definitions for the US are not included until Release 11.  Another point that needs to be understood is that the initial definitions require that aggregated carriers be in contiguous blocks in different spectrum bands (inter-band) or in separate blocks but in the same band (intra-band).   For Release 11, only 2 carriers can be aggregated together.  For Release 12, Verizon has sponsored a work group that will allow 3 carriers to be aggregated, 1 from the 700MHz band and 2 different carriers from the AWS band.  Thus, Release 12 will be necessary for Verizon to aggregate their two AWS blocks of spectrum with their 700 MHz LTE.


The Spectrum Grid view is sorted by the EA geographical area which show that the AWS B and C licenses have not be dis-aggregated.  The A channel licenses do show discontinuity since they were originally auctioned as CMA licenses.  AT&T through their Leap purchase will strengthen their AWS ownership in this market.

To look at the competitive picture for spectrum in the St Louis market (EA-96) we can look at the 
Company By Band worksheet from the AllNet Labs' Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool.  Looking first at Verizon, we can see the variety of spectrum depths across the EA that Verizon indicated in their FCC filing. Verizon will range from 62 MHz to 117 MHz depending on the county.  The only county that Verizon controls 117 MHz is Montgomery County, MO which is 40 miles west of St. Louis.  

Looking at the other carriers in this market we see that US Cellular will still control between 32 MHz and 69 MHz, while AT&T with their Leap purchase will control between 61 MHz and 105 MHz.


T-Mobile controls between 40 MHz and 60 MHz with two counties at 70 MHz and Sprint with their Clearwire purchase controls between 130 MHz and 242 MHz.  





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