T-Mobile wants better coverage in your home, and it’s begging the FCC to make it happen

By Williams Pelegrin October 24, 2014

t mobile asking fcc help order give better coverage home — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Regardless of the success T-Mobile has had with its Uncarrier initiative, one thing is clear: T-Mobile’s coverage doesn’t look great compared to Verizon’s and AT&T’s. To combat this, T-Mobile is looking to have its devices work better in homes and buildings, and it’s asking the FCC to help make that happen.

In a blog post written on Thursday, T-Mobile vice president of regulatory affairs Kathleen Ham emphasized the importance of low-band spectrum, which would allow walls to be less of a hindrance when it comes to delivering service. “As our competitors well know, arming T-Mobile with low-band spectrum is a competitive game-changer, enabling our service to penetrate building walls better and travel longer distances than we can with the spectrum we have today,” said Ham.

In order to gain this sought-after low-band spectrum, T-Mobile is requesting amendments to spectrum auction requirements. T-Mobiles believes the FCC needs to not only establish a larger reserve for low-band spectrum, but to also change its minimum sales prices for licenses.

“The FCC wants to maintain four nationwide competitors in the wireless marketplace, maximize the efficient use of spectrum, and recover a portion of the license value for taxpayers,” said Ham. “With some fine-tuning of the rules, the chances of achieving those outcomes are much more likely than not.”

The FCC has yet to comment on the matter.

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Williams Pelegrin

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…

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