T-mobile and Verizon to do another license swap

TMO can use the spectrum in Balto.

 

T-Mobile roams on Cingular in Myrtle Beach,
where Cingular coverage is SOLID.

 

Isn't that the system they bought from Sprint Spectrum a long time ago?

 

I thought the old Sprint Spectrum system only covered the immediate DC area but not Baltimore or any of that area. I do believe the Baltimore area was an old Omnipoint area.

Edit: I see, Sprint Spectrum had spectrum in that area but no network and ended up transferring it to Omnipoint (just like they transferred the entire DC network to them as well)

 

Ok I just figured that Baltimore was part of the DC market that Sprint had built out.

 

T-Mobile actually has 30 Mhz of spectrum in Myrtle Beach, SC. T-Mobile will still have 20 Mhz of spectrum for Myrtle Beach when the exchange is complete.

 

Update: OMG T-Mobile is so stupid! They are infact giving up the entire license, thats right the entire 30 Mhz of PCS spectrum to Verizon for the Myrtle Beach license. I'm sorry but that's just stupid for T-Mobile to do that. Verizon doesn't need that much more spectrum for that area. For T-Mobile just to hand them all of the license I think is just one of the dumbest moves T-Mobile has ever made.

 

Ok now I'm confused as hell the FCC site reads as though T-Mobile has 30 Mhz of spectrum in Myrtle Beach yet according to a T-Mobile document they only have 10 Mhz.

 

Either way, the additional specturm in Balto is more important to TM.

I think cryogenic has the Sprint Spectrum network correct - I don't think the coverage ever extended into Baltimore, but the license covered the Wash-Balt area. There never was an Omnipoint network in this area.

 

Verizon doesn't need more spectrum in Myrtle Beach, it needs more towers, a lot more. As Dan and I were saying on AIM, maybe T-Mobile will just get a network in Myrtle Beach from Suncom

 

From what I've heard Verizon is getting better in Myrtle Beach. T-Mobile apparently only had 10 Mhz of spectrum for the Myrtle Beach area and they wasn't using it. Ten Mhz of spectrum isn't enough for T-Mobile to operate a network in that area so they might as well have sold it off.

Verizon is currently only operating on 10 Mhz of spectrum in Myrtle Beach. While you can operate a CDMA PCS network on only 10 Mhz since it's much more spectrum efficent than GSM it's still not enough ideal spectrum. Verizon really could use more spectrum in Myrtle Beach and with this deal they got it. Looking over this exchange I think T-Mobile and Verizon actually made a good move.

 

TM launched Baltimore and Richmond with only 10 MHz!

 

One simple reason why VZW would want more than 10 Mhz of spectrum even in Myrtle Beach would be things like EVDO, and I'm sure,at least after the deal, they will expand coverage further.

 

...and SunCom. (and I actually do roam on SunCom first -- my SIMs were set by TMO to prefer SunCom over Cingular.)

Hmm...I wonder if more of the old Carolina Phone licenses will go away...

-SC

 

Sprint Spectrum (APC, GSM) DID have coverage in Baltimore...and I roamed on it more than once:


http://web.archive.org/web/19971126053000/sprintspectrum-apc.com/map.gif

-SC

 

Thought so. Thanks for the map.

 

Either way, only Suncom and Cingular work reliably in Myrtle Beach. Leave Myrtle Beach out into the boonies, they are the only ones that work period. No analog, just digital PCS GSM!

Wow Sprint Spectrum did a pretty good job. I know they eventually even got service at the Delaware beaches. Now if Sprint had only stuck with GSM...

 

Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking, b/c I used it too b/c it WA the VS network in 2000, and I remember the hole on 83 north of Balto that VS inherited but took about two years to close.

 

I wonder why Vz would want more licenses in SC. Wouldn't they have enough between themselves and Alltel? Or is this another market they plan on taking away from their "friend" Alltel?

 

VZW also wanted that 10Mhz in Nashville to roll out EV-DO. Nashville was the only major market in TN that they didn't have any PCS. They'd acquired 10Mhz from Cingular for Knoxville, 10Mhz in the Tri Cities in the last auction.. plus 10 Mhz in Chattanooga and Memphis some other way (someone want to fill in the blanks here?).

 

Does that mean that a carrier who has the A or B cellular side cannot adequately deliver voice and data coverage unless they also have some PCS licenses too?

 

This makes since if Tmobile does go after Suncom

 

Maybe they are already in talks on buying up Suncom & this is why they went thru with the sale to Verizon, prevent any DOJ/FCC requirement to diverse the bandwidth. I guess we will find out if they are trying to get them in due time.