Supporting Innovation in Unlicensed Bands

AT&T recently joined a coalition of high tech companies and wireless operators designed to help educate consumers and policymakers about the benefits of using unlicensed spectrum to enhance speed, service quality and coverage for consumers. Two new unlicensed technologies -- LTE-U and LTE-LAA -- are being developed to harness the availability of unlicensed spectrum to complement LTE technologies deployed in licensed bands in ways that will directly benefit US wireless customers.

AT&T believes that any new technologies should play fair and any legitimate coexistence concerns should be addressed. AT&T has recently announced its plans to test LTE-U and is fully engaged in the standardization effort behind LTE-LAA. Wi-Fi-centric concerns about either technology should be fully understood and tested to ensure fair use sharing. We’d like to see testing conducted by a cross-section of unlicensed stakeholders so any co-existence concerns can be fully vetted. But the answer to any co-existence challenges, should they exist, will not be found in the heavy-handed regulatory response that some seem to be encouraging. Unlicensed bands have long served as the playground for disruption and innovation in new wireless technologies. A light-touch regulatory framework has served that purpose well to the benefit of US wireless consumers. There’s no reason that should change now.