AT&T purchase 12Mhz Spectrum for Nationwide WiFi?

dazabritdazabrit
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Macworld UK are reporting that AT&T have purchased the 12Mhz spectrum which covers 60% of the US (196 million of the 303 million US residents).



A sign that AT&T (& Apple) are going to implement Nationwide WiFi rather than 3G?



How would this work on an International level? Steve Jobs was reportedly very interested in WiFi sharing

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    dazabritdazabrit Posts: 273member
    Would tie in nicely with the 'WiFi Mobile Device' moniker that is being thrown around lately when mentioning the iPod Touch.



    It's quite exciting when you think of the possibilities for this platform:

    WiFi everywhere, Wireless Payment Technology, Targeted Services and Advertising etc



  • Reply 2 of 3
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dazabrit View Post


    Macworld UK are reporting that AT&T have purchased the 12Mhz spectrum which covers 60% of the US (196 million of the 303 million US residents).



    A sign that AT&T (& Apple) are going to implement Nationwide WiFi rather than 3G?



    How would this work on an International level? Steve Jobs was reportedly very interested in WiFi sharing



    That's not possible, the frequencies are wrong. WiMax doesn't go that low right now either. You'll have to buy new devices. I don't think there is any data standard currently suited for use at 700MHz.
  • Reply 3 of 3
    visionaryvisionary Posts: 118member
    This purchase needs more analysis because it opens the door for many things.



    For one, Apple could use it for tv broadcasts for news and live events like sports. AppleTV does not handle this type of programming well and this could be part of the answer for people to ditch their cable and satellite tv and go just with AppleTV. What if Apple TV already included an antenna for picking up these broadcasts?



    The rest of the spectrum could be used for video telephone calls and other 3G-like data uses, something similar to WiMax. This would play right into empowering the iPhone and iPod Touch. Just think, mobile wireless internet, tv, and video phone in the palm of your hand, in your living room, on your computers, even in your cars.



    It's late at night so I might be making some rushed judgments but somebody knowledgable needs to explore the ramifications this deal creates.
Sign In or Register to comment.