Revisiting Lower 700 MHz Interoperability

In recent months, there has been a renewed push to drive a regulatory mandate to address the interoperability issues that challenge the lower 700 MHz band. Perhaps acknowledging that a Band 12 mandate ignores the interference concerns present in the band, the small carriers are now arguing that B and C block licensees should be required to support both Band 17 and Band 12 in all the devices they offer. Setting aside the fact that this would require carriers like AT&T that own only B and C block licenses to support a band class that they don’t need and won’t use, a Dual Band mandate would fall far short of solving the interoperability challenge and raises a host of new problems.