Verizon, AT&T, and US Cellular get 4G LTE network boosts during coronavirus pandemic
In addition to closing most of their stores to protect employees and encourage social distancing behaviors, as well as offering various perks for customers in their time of need, US carriers also have a plan for expanding network capacity to meet sharply increased demand for fast and stable wireless service.
Following T-Mobile's suit, Verizon, AT&T, and US Cellular have all filed requests with the FCC in the last few days for temporary access to essential additional spectrum during the ongoing public health crisis caused by the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease.
The Federal Communications Commission has already published its approvals of the aforementioned requests from Verizon and US Cellular on its official website, and according to PCMag's Sascha Segan, AT&T also has a similar agreement with Dish Network in place that the FCC will undoubtedly green-light before long.
Just like their magenta-coated arch-rival, AT&T and Verizon are expected to leverage unused spectrum owned by Dish to improve their coverage and boost download speeds for the next 60 days (at the very least). Of course, T-Mo actually struck deals with several different companies, including Comcast, Bluewater, and Channel 51 in addition to Dish, for temporary network upgrades allowing the "Un-carrier" to hike both its 4G and 5G speeds.
Verizon and AT&T's temporary access to additional spectrum, meanwhile, is primarily designed to help deliver a strong and steady 4G LTE signal for as many people as possible around the nation. Keep in mind that Dish is set to compete against America's top three carriers after the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint is finalized, but for the time being, all the spectrum the company has been collecting for a number of years now remains unexploited.
We're talking low-band 600MHz technology that will be loaned to T-Mobile, Band 66 spectrum for both Verizon and AT&T, as well as additional Band 29 airwaves that AT&T will be using to boost 4G LTE speeds. Meanwhile, US Cellular is looking at tapping into AWS-3 spectrum owned by a company called Advantage Spectrum that will provide enhanced network capacity for customers in parts of California, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Technical details aside, what you need to know is the nation's largest wireless service providers are doing everything in their power to keep everyone connected for as long as COVID-19 will be considered a threat to public health.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: