Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR AT&T will pay roughly $23B to acquire 30 MHz of 3.45 GHz (mid-band) and 20 MHz of 600 MHz (low-band) spectrum from EchoStar/Dish, and the companies say they’ll deepen Boost’s wholesale access agreement with AT&T’s network.
Details on the enhanced MVNO deal are vague, but it likely means Boost will lean more on AT&T coverage; priority/QoS improvements are possible but unconfirmed.
Don’t expect instant customer-visible changes, but the added spectrum should help AT&T shore up performance and capacity, including future fixed-wireless expansion.
AT&T announced a new agreement with Boost Mobile and Dish Network’s parent company, EchoStar. A key piece is a $23 billion spectrum purchase by AT&T, covering roughly 30 MHz of nationwide 3.45GHz mid-band and 20MHz of nationwide 600 MHz low-band airwaves. There are also agreements to enhance their long-term wholesale network services agreement between the two companies, which Boost uses to fill coverage gaps where Dish’s own 5G network isn’t available.
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While the companies were vague about what the “enhanced” wholesale agreement includes, the takeaway is that Boost will likely rely even more on AT&T for broader coverage in areas outside of its own 5G network. It’s also possible that AT&T will provide Boost with higher-priority access or other QoS improvements, but that’s just speculation for now.
Why spend so much for “only” 50 MHz? Simply put, AT&T needs more spectrum, and keeping it out of competitors’ hands is part of the game, too.
It’s no secret that AT&T’s brand has slipped from its once-loftier perch. T-Mobile is now the default pick for many, thanks to savvy marketing and major acquisitions (including the recent U.S. Cellular deal), with Verizon spoken in the same breath or just behind it. Meanwhile, AT&T has quickly become the third wheel, at least in the minds of consumers. With that in mind, AT&T may simply be looking for any opportunities left that others haven’t pounced on.
There are several ways AT&T could deploy these bands. If the low-band block is 20 MHz, that likely maps to n71 at 10×10 MHz, since Dish’s only other low-band holding is 5 MHz of Band 29. This could potentially bolster fallback coverage in places where Band 12 is congested, just to name one possible use case. AT&T might also pursue spectrum swaps with its rivals, or simply bank capacity for the future.
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